Escaflowne ~ A Vision Reborn
by A White Rose Petal
Summary: **Epilogue Uploaded** Man, I'm done with this story...how strange is that??? Prologue - 30 chapters - Epilogue Kind of long no? Anyway../"M-mom?" She whispered. Her mother looked amusedly at her daughter and laughed lightly./
1. Prologue

Escaflowne - A vision Reborn ~ Prologue

__

By *~A White Rose Petal~*

Disclaimer: I don't own anything! Sept the plot!

Rating: PG13

Authors Note: I was listening to the music on this site -- [http://myhome.naver.com/esca97/escamenu.html][1]

__

NOT MINE! I don't understand any of the words but I just got an inspiration when I heard it. It might even be the theme song but I haven't a clue so… Please enjoy!

~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~

Hitomi was in her room. She had a pillow up against her face; her face had streaks all over it. She had again been crying. _Why won't he leave my head! Why won't he let me let him go? Why didn't he want me to stay? _Hitomi choked on the last part. Tears again welled up in her eyes. She thought she could cry no more. She thought she had cried all that was possible. But she was proven wrong. The tears again spilled. Her eyes were red and her throat was sore. But worse of all, her heart ached. Her family and friends have been worried about her. It was only one week, and she was like this.

~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~

Mrs. Kanzaki had a strange feeling that something bad was going to happen. She looked around the room in which a large party was being held. It was in their new house. A medium sized mansion. This party was for Hitomi coming back safely. She looked around the room a noted that her daughter was not there. She put down her glass on the table where Yukari and Amono were sitting. Yukari already knew what the Hitomi's mother wanted to know.

"Hitomi went up stairs to freshen up Mrs. Kanzaki." Yukari whispered. She quickly thanked Yukari for the information and head up the stairs. She came to Hitomi's room and heard sniffling inside. _Again?_ She thought. _Who could do something like this? _Mrs. Kanzaki lightly knocked on the door. She heard shuffling from inside Hitomi's room and then heard Hitomi hoarsely whisper.

"Wh-who's there?" She asked. Trying to hide the fact that she had just been crying.

"It's me Hitomi…may I come in?"

"M-mom?"

"Yes dear."

"Al-alright m-mom…c-come on-on I-I-in." She heard Hitomi collapse into crying again and went into the room lightly closing the door behind her with a small click.

"Hitomi darling…what's wrong? You know you can tell me anything!"

"I know mom it's just-" Hitomi stopped herself. She was going to say that you wouldn't believe me. Her mother put her left thumb to Hitomi's left temple.

"If I guess. Just a large guess…will you tell me the answer?" Hitomi nodded her head yes. Her mother thought for a moment then her eyes sparkled.

"Hitomi? Tell me about the planet named Gaea."

~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~

~ Fanailia ~

~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~

Van was practicing with his sword field in the middle of an open field. Everything about the field was gold. The old grass went from green to its color and the wheat, which bordered along the fence even. The leaves on the trees even had a yellowish tint to them. The advisors thought Van was perfectly happy now that cursed thing from the mystic blue moon is gone. He wouldn't have to worry about her well being. They thought Van had thought of her as a dumb girl…like they do. People thought she helped save Gaea? Ha! They thought. She's only getting credit because she was there with King Van. They never understood why Van abruptly disliked the idea of letting the public know this. But why not? She hadn't DONE anything to even help with the war. Van heard these things out of their mouths everyday. But he also heard them about a marriage proposal. Apparently he had to marry before he turned 18. He was still 15. He never understood why he should start looking now when he knew that he would find no one else. He let his go. He hated it. Why did he let her go? Not even he knows. Van kept on swishing the sword through the air when he heard the soft padding of feet behind him. He turned around and saw no other than Merle coming up to him.

"Lord Van! Lord Van! There you are! I was looking EVERYWHERE for you!" She said grinning. The grin changed to a frown when she noticed all she got from Van was a small curve of the lips then go back to their normal state. Merle looked at Van. She knew what he wanted…or at least needed so to speak. He wanted Hitomi. _He has the pendant… Why doesn't he go? _Merle thought thinking of her old rival. Once Hitomi left Van got more and more depressed. "Lord Van! Tell me what's wrong…please!" Merle pleaded with her old time friend. Van looked over to her and sighed in defeat. He put his sword away and fell into the grass with a thud. Merle walked over to him and sat down. "Well?" She asked. Van again sighed.

"Hitomi…" He whispered. Merle looked down at her paw like hands and then back to Van. It had been quite a while since she chased Van. Hitomi, she knew, is what he wanted. Merle let a small tear trickle down her face. Van was now like this all the time. Merle sometimes thought that he could now quickly get into an acting service from how well he fooled the advisors. Suddenly Van bolted up and took out his sword. Merle soon heard why. She heard the sound of horses coming near. She saw three fat, brown, (in her mind) spoiled horses with their owners on their backs. It took a while for her to realize that it was three of Van's advisor's. Van put his sword away and stared at the three old men.

"Yes?" He said in a monotone voice. The three advisors got of their horses and held on to their horse's reins. The oldest one, also the one in the middle stepped forward and bowed quickly then stood straight again.

"Lord Van." He said. Van slightly bowed his head.

"What do you want?" He asked. He was getting sick of his advisors following him when he wanted to be alone. At least Merle didn't ask the questions they did, and stayed silent when she thought he wanted it. His best friend and really the only friend he has unless you can count the advisors. Which you couldn't.

"Lord Van, sorry to bother you-" _Again. Where is the again? _Van wondered. He thought it really belonged there. "But we were wondering if you had come to the decision of your bride yet hhhhmmmm…" Merle rolled her eyes and clutched her stomach. _This AGAIN?! Don't they have a life other than bothering Van?? Wait…bothering Van IS their life! ARGH! _Merle felt sick…or at least that she had a headache. It got really annoying seeing the three old guys three teethy grins as if to lighten up the mood. IT didn't though. It just made her and Van sick.

"No." Van answered plainly. The three looked grim. The one on the right sighed.

"You majesty-" He began. He couldn't finish. He didn't know what to say! He sighed again. "We have much to talk about…in the castle. Only the elder advisors however-" He said waving his hand to the other two. "And maybe even Merle will understand once the meeting gets started."

"HEY! What are you implying about me?"

"That, with King Van's permission, you join the meeting." Merle's eyes popped. _Join a meeting?…I'm never joined one of these meetings! Even if there will only be three advisors and Van…It still has to be important! Right? _Van kept his reaction better hidden but was still surprised himself. He let out his breath.

"Alright, Merle will join…the meeting shall be held when?" He said. The advisors looked a little relieved.

"Strictly after you get back to the castle your highness…strictly after you get back to the castle!" Van nodded his head as the advisors got out of sight with their horses.

"I-I get to come to a-a MEETING?!…Oh great…" She said the last part sarcastically. Van stared at her.

"What?"

"I hear meetings are VERY boring."

~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~

A/N: WHEW! Done! The next part will be up soon IF (Disney's Cinderella--IF) I get ten GOOD (I don't know a movie with a GOOD in it so…) reviews thank you IF (You've got the idea right?) You review! GOOD or BAD (You're bored right?) Bye!

~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~

ESCAFLOWNE - A Vision Reborn

SUMMARY FOR THE SERIES - Van and Hitomi miss each other and try to fight it. They both know that they can't Hitomi lands on Gaea again but lands in another place that isn't close to Fanailia when she finds out her parent's terrible secret. It's up to her to figure out what it means… Being one who knows the past, present, and future Hitomi gets a vision of this oddly stronger older girl Does this girl hold the key to Van and Hitomi's future. Does Hitomi…know her?

   [1]: http://myhome.naver.com/esca97/escamenu.html



	2. Mother

Escaflowne - A Vision Reborn (1)

__

Mother's Secret

****

By *~A White Rose Petal~*

Disclaimer- You already know! Not MINE!!!!…sept the plot…

Sites- Check the prologue, I'm lazy and want to get to the story

A/N: Hitomi tells her mother everything…but is more surprised at what her mother told 

****

HER!

~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~

Hitomi just gawked at her mother. _She knew about Gaea?! _She thought _How? _Then it hit her. She must have been talking in her few hours of sleep when she wasn't crying. They made a deal though. So Hitomi had to tell her mother. She sighed.

"Gaea is another planet-"

"Not that stuff! What did you do or at least know about it!" Hitomi looked at her mother with her red eyes which were that way from crying so much. She sighed in defeat.

"One day, I was running on the track like I usually did. Amono and I had an agreement…about something, and Yukari was there also."

__

*~ Flashback ~*

Hitomi was running on the track. She loved the way the wind around her felt when she ran into it. One of the main two reasons why she loved running. She could also always get a way from everybody and everything when she ran, even if somebody was running right beside her. As long as they were quiet, she felt this way. Suddenly a brilliant white light shot straight out of the sky. A boy around her age landed. He had ash black hair. He had on what looked like armor to Hitomi's eyes.

She saw a dragon come out of what seemed like no where and charged at the boy. She saw him use his sword to fight the dragon. Suddenly he got into a little trouble, "WATCH OUT!" She yelled at him. He took her warning and got out of the way. He soon killed the dragon and took this sphere out of it. A white light enveloped him and soon her taking both of them to this place called Gaea.

~*~ End Flashback ~*~

She told her mother everything after that. Her mother nodded her head and was just about to apply before she heard a very large crash from downstairs.

"Oh my goodness! What could that be?" She and her mother jumped off her bed. "Hitomi, wait here! We'll finish this later alright?" Hitomi shook her head yes and her mother was off.

~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~

Van was in his room looking out the window. _Hitomi… _he thought thinking of his lost love. He stood up and grabbed his sword. Dawn was starting to break through the windows and he wanted to be out of the castle before the advisors got to him.

~*~~*~ Stables ~*~~*~

Van went over the to the royal stalls. Van looked over all of the horses wondering which one he should ride. He quickly chose a black stallion. He went over and unlocked the stable. The horse made small thudding sounds with his hooves. Van already had the halter on and locked up the stable again while holding on to it. He went out of the long like barn with his horse bobbing his head behind him.

"Woah there Night…" Van stated. He put the blanket and saddle onto the horses back and climbed on himself while holding the horses hair. He pulled on the reins and he was off. Getting away from his troubles as fast as he thought possible.

~*~~*~ Outside of Kanzaki Home ~*~

"OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD!" Hitomi screamed. Tears were streaming down her face. The fire was burning even higher.

__

~*~~*~ Flashback minutes before…~*~~*~

Hitomi re-buried her head in the pillow now that her mother was downstairs. Thoughts were swimming all around her head at how this could have happened? How could her mother know about Gaea? Hitomi had no clue to those questions. She was devastated because of it. Suddenly she heard a scream and then a loud ringing going through the house. The fire alarm! _She thought. _W-Why is it going off…now! _Hitomi felt something starting to burn her eyes. Smoke. Hitomi opened up her door without feeling it from the inside. She went out and ran into the wooden bars that were there. What she saw terrified her. People were running and screaming trying to get away from the fire. She saw her father. Trying to push her brother to the door. Trying to get him away from the fire. A bar went down in front of both of them, sending fire onto both of them. Her brother screamed with pain as her father yelled. Nobody was getting out! Or at least nobody she knew… Amono and Yukari were very easily trapped. As were her father and brother. She saw someone climbing the stairs and noticed the dress that the woman was wearing._

"Mommy! Mommy!" She screamed. Her mother got to the top of the stairs and looked at her daughter. Tears in her eyes. Hitomi saw why. They to were just blocked off. Part of the high ceiling fell onto the stairs and was quickly burning away the carpet and wood that was underneath it.

"H-Hitomi! Get out! NOW!" Her mother seemed to be saying. She shook her head know. "Hitomi don't be ::cough:: stubborn! We'll be alright! ::cough::"

"HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT?!" Hitomi screamed as well as wondered.

"Hitomi listen, go now! Get yourself out of here! PLEASE!"

"B-But mom…"

"Hitomi!" Her mother said sternly. Hitomi stomped her foot down as if to say I'm dying with this house. Or at least in her mind, her family. Her mother touched her shoulder after walking forward a few steps. She used all of the strength she had to get Hitomi to turn around and into her parents room. Mrs. Kanzaki coughed over and over again from the smoke that she inhaled. She took a ladder from under her bed and put it out of her window. She pointed to it like an instruction for Hitomi to get out of here on it. Hitomi stared at it then at her mother. She shook her head no and tears started to well up in her eyes again.

"Don't make me die mad at you and myself Hitomi…especially you!" Her mother's statement shocked her.

"B-But mom…"

"HITOMI! NOW!" Hitomi let the tears streak her face again she didn't want to leave her mother but she didn't want her mother want her to be angry at her. Hitomi walked over to the window and climbed out of the buliding.

"W-Why aren't you coming mommy?" Her mother smiled down at her daughter. She stroke her cheek.

"Hitomi…I've inhaled enough smoke already to die."

"No mom!" 

"Hitomi go now!"

"B-but m-mom…"

"NOW!"

~*~~*~ End Flashback ~*~~*~

Tears were falling down her cheeks. Suddenly a stretcher came out with a woman on it.

"Mama?" Hitomi ran over to her. To her it was odd that the people, except her, started to leave her mother.

"H-Hi-Hitomi-mi…" Her mother lifted her hand to Hitomi's cheek and Hitomi held it there with her own

"MAMA!" Hitomi was so happy to see her mother alive.

"Hitomi…listen to me…"

"Y-yes…"

"If-if y-you kn-know how to-to g-get to Ga-Gaea…th-then do it!"

"B-But why mama?"

"Hitomi…listen…Do you want to know why YOU went-went there…not anybody else?"

"B-Because of-of my-my pendant?"

"Y-Yes but…"

"What?" Hitomi almost forgot her mother was in front of her dying.

"That pendant was made up of a rock only been found on a certain part of Gaea…" Hitomi's eyes widened.

"W-what do you mean mother?"

"Hitomi find your-your s…find Virginia…" Her mother's breath got cut short and her hand fell from Hitomi's cheek.

"MOMMY!" Hitomi screamed at the lifeless figure in front of her. "Mommy." Tears came to her eyes again as she whispered her last words to her mother. Almost as if she knew to do it by heart, Hitomi put her hand in front of her mothers face and closed her eyes in a sign of respect.

"I love you mommy." As if her mother was living inside her head, an answer came to her, an answer she wasn't accepting.

"I love you Hitomi…my daughter…"

~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~

A/N: OK kind of crummy but not entirely, I couldn't think of a suitable way to end that so I did it that way. The next parts will be way better! I swear…Or at least I hope so!!!

~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~

ESCAFLOWNE - A Vision Reborn

SUMMARY FOR THE SERIES - Van and Hitomi miss each other and try to fight it. They both know that they can't Hitomi lands on Gaea again but lands in another place that isn't close to Fanailia when she finds out her parent's terrible secret. It's up to her to figure out what it means… Being one who knows the past, present, and future Hitomi gets a vision of this oddly stronger older girl Does this girl hold the key to Van and Hitomi's future. Does Hitomi…know her?


	3. I

Escaflowne ~ A Vision Reborn (2)

I'm Back, I'm Lost

By *~A White Rose Petal~*

Disclaimer- I own nuttin' sept the plot got that? 

**__**

NOTE!! READ!!-If I get no more than…**_9 _reviews I'LL STOP WRITING THIS!!! _10 _**reviews or more (more I hope! Hehe!) you will see more of this story (the prologue got 18 reviews while Escaflowne - A Vision Reborn (1) got 4 last I saw, see what I'm talking about?)

A/N: If you're wondering why I have an extra title, like here it's _I'm Back, I'm Lost _It's just like the shows I suppose… any who, THIS STORY IS ENTIRELY DIFFERENT FROM ANY OTHER I EVER READ!!! You will see what I mean later… READ!!! REVIEW!!! GOT THAT???

~*~

Summary:

Hitomi learns of a secret that her mother kept from her. It's time for Hitomi to seek out and look for Virginia, does Hitomi…know her?

~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~

He's all torn up

From her loving and affection

And a boys night out

These days out of the question

~ The Wilconsons (spelling?)

~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~

Van was entering the forest that was close to his castle. He flew through the trees like a bird though he didn't even have his wings out. The horse's mane was flying and the wind was in his face. He wasn't paying any attention to that though. _She _was on his mind again. She's the one who invaded his thoughts all the time. He hated her for it…or did he? He didn't know the answers to these questions anymore if he really ever knew the answers. She had to invade his thoughts-just had to. Why couldn't he get over her? Why? These questions flew through his head one-by-one but they go so fast he barely thought that! He went up to the lake and got off Night. He walked over to the lake taking his shoes off while jumping the same time and did the same with the other foot. The water was rippling lightly, the wind doing this. Van welcomed the breeze and sighed. He carefully rolled up his pants to his knees and dipped his feet into the cold water. He shivered slightly. He had been in colder water than this during the war…even though he was in a guyemelif most of the time while he was in the water saving…_Hitomi…_ he let his mind wander once more…

~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~

"Who is doing this to me!?" Hitomi choked up. Her mother's hand was lying lifelessly in the grass. The ambulance men started to pick her up and put a cover over her mother.

"We're sorry miss." One of them said. He did have sorrow in his voice but Hitomi just hated anything that even got close to her at the moment.

"Stay AWAY from me!" She turned around and started running from the rubble but something caught her eye. A light white feather was on top of the ash. It didn't even seem singed. She looked around to see if anybody was looking and ran over to it. delicately lifting it up. _Van… Something else to cry about…oh joy! _She thought sarcastically. She put the feather in her sleeve, hiding it from view then started running from her troubles yet again. Hitomi started to turn left, but she felt something start to tug her, urging her to go the other way. Finally she gave in. Going where ever these urges took her. She gasped. It was the track. She hadn't even done a full loop around it since she came back. It was a reminder of what she left behind. _My mother…knows I-I mean knew…what I left behind… _She felt tears starting to attack again. _Mama…_ It was then that Hitomi noticed something, blurry, but definitely there. The track had been fixed up, so you could see nothing of the battle. She went down to the track and the dirt came up a little bit in small puffs when her feet hit it. When she saw it, she didn't know why it attracted her. _I've seen something like this… WHERE?! _Hitomi was really being tough on herself. Something hit her. _Van was dueling with the one guy…on the other wall…_Even though it really didn't mean anything, at least had a small clue to where it came from. _Gaea…_

She quickly got back to her feet from where she was kneeling. She ran to the forest that was near by, hoping that she would be able to listen to her own thoughts there.

~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~

"Your Highness." A man in armor bowed to a woman with her hands behind her back. She was thin with ash black hair she had a few streaks of white and silver in it. Not from age, It grew naturally that way ever since she was a girl. She had a silver band across her head. The jewels on it gleamed in the sun. Her hair went right under her shoulders. She turned around to see the guard still bowing to her.

"Get up Tente." She said Acidly. The guard quickly stood. "What do YOU want?" Her gray eyes flashed. The guard shivered.

"Y-Your Majesty-y th-the tr-tree…it's…"

"YES?!" The queen said suddenly getting interested. Upon the royal lands in which she lived, a sacred tree stood. This tree told whether the majesties are alive or not. When one died, it's branch of the tree would glow a fabulous white glow and it would slowly eat away at the branch, taking it off the tree.

"T-two branches burned off…"

"The prin-"

"Neither of them. Just the un-un-rightful king and queen you majesty…"

"Wonderful…Wonderful…Now to take care of the last two…"

"Yes your Majesty."

"You may go Tente."

"Thank you your highness."

~*~

Outside someone heard the conversation between Tente and the queen and gasped.

__

'I must tell Jin…' He thought. He turned around and ran on all fours into what is known as the death forest for years. The forest where no one has ever survived.

~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~

A/N: Peeps I've got to know whether I should finish this or not!!! You've GOT to review!!! Anyway…I hope you like it…I'm home sick today…boo-who…I hope you DID like it though. If you did…REVIEW! Thank you!

~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~

ESCAFLOWNE - A Vision Reborn

SUMMARY FOR THE SERIES - Van and Hitomi miss each other and try to fight it. They both know that they can't Hitomi lands on Gaea again but lands in another place that isn't close to Fanailia when she finds out her parent's terrible secret. It's up to her to figure out what it means… Being one who knows the past, present, and future Hitomi gets a vision of this oddly stronger older girl Does this girl hold the key to Van and Hitomi's future. Does Hitomi…know her?

[m][1]

   [1]: mailto:rrriessen@cs.com



	4. Death Forest

Escaflowne ~ A Vision Reborn (3)

Death Forest

By *~A White Rose Petal~*

Disclaimer: I don't own anything alright? Geesh…Wait…I OWN THE PLOT! YAY!

A/N: OOOOOOOOOOOOO! Hey peeps! The next part! I hope you like it! I got hit with a LARGE piece of inspiration! Hope it works out!

~*~

Summary:

Van remembers in which a meeting Merle got to attend{her first}. Hitomi Has a vision! Hitomi gets washed away to Gaea but she lands on a place called Zantaki?

~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~

Hitomi ran with the small coin she found in her hand. Her tears still streaked her face. She ran faster and faster down her face as she ran into the forest. Hoping it would protect her from whatever she was running from. A true problem for her because not even SHE knew what she was running from. She just didn't know… Hitomi heard water flowing and knew that she was coming to a stream.

This stream wasn't polluted like a lot of the other streams. This stream was calm peaceful and clean. Hitomi stopped and looked into the water to see her reflection. Hitomi lost some of that girlish tone she had when she was 15 and, in her words, grew up a bit after she left Gaea. She knew that that wasn't really true.

When it came to looks, it was true but when it came to her heart and to Van…she was the exact same as she was all those years ago.

Hitomi was so busy crying and listening to the water of the stream she didn't know that the coin started to glow when the feather touched it…

~*~ Death Forest ~*~

"You've got to be kidding me Zatera!" A girl with long blond hair said.

"It's true Jin! I mean it! I saw it with me own eyes! Not to mention heard it with me very ears!" A brownish part cat part human retorted.

"O-One of the branches b-burned o-off…" Zatera shook his head wearily no. "What do you mean?" Zatera took in a deep breath and let it out.

"It wasn't one branch Jin…it was two…"

"B-but th-that me-means that b-both of th-them, they, they…" tears came up to Jin's eyes. Zatera put his hand on her back trying to comfort her.

"Both the king and q-queen are-are…d-dead?" She choked on the last part. Zatera shook his head yes.

"No 'fense Jin b-but why do you care so much? I mean they were way better than Wanda who's ruling now but…"

"L-let's ju-just say that the k-king and q-queen to-took care of me-me when I wa-was younger…" Zatera looked at his best friend and hugged her.

"You better get ready Jin." He whispered into her ear. "I do believe I hear troops coming thinking they can live through your wrath…" Jin brought her head up and listened intently for a moment than heard it herself.

"Oh great! A new bunch of warriors who think they can-"

"Hey!" Zatera said in fake defense for the troops that just entered the forest trying to get rid of the 'girl phantom'. "They just want to show that a 'phantom' can't kick their butts!"

"I think they've got it easy…"

"Why?"

"Because they don't need to wear leather the full time!" Zatera laughed at this comment.

"Nobody ever said ya had to wear it Jin."

"I know. I don't know why I wear it!"

"Cuz you look good both front and back?" Zatera joked.

"Don't start with me Zat! You pervert!" And Jin was out the door ready to fight the 'tough' troops that just came into the forest.

'rest at last…' thought Zatera. He put his arms under his bed and pulled out some new comics he just bought off the market a few days ago.

~*~

Hitomi closed her eyes and let the darkness drown her. Than she a flash of light. 'NO! not a vision! Not now!' But it was to late. The Vision came n blurry but then started to came in straighter. She saw a girl. She was wearing leather pants, a cheetah print tank top, and a black vest over that. She held a staff in her hand. It looked like it was used many times before against swords and knifes. Hitomi was impressed on how much even the staff could do. She turned her head in the direction where the girl was headed. Her eyes opened up in fear. Tons of men, soldiers judging from the armor they wore, were holding torches that could burn down a tree and all the animals in it in a few quick moments. Hitomi felt a small bit of rage inside of her. 'What are those men doing?' She thought. She soon got her answer. One of the men in front, probably the leader, stepped forward and spoke.

"Woman Phantom show yourself and fight like what you are! If you are strong enough to fight us than don't act as if you are a coward and hide! Come out and show yourself! Show yourself so that you may die with respect as you fight my army! This will be the first fight in which you will not win phantom! Show yourself now!"

Hitomi looked back to the girl who put her staff by the tree and smirked. These men were looking oddly smudged and relieved at the same time. She wondered why. The one in front didn't look to happy though. He apparently wanted a fight. One of the men in back came forward and slapped him on the back.

"Hey boss! Looks like we scared the phantom chick away!" Hitomi looked at the girl who narrowed her eyes at the one man. The leader of the group dropped the torch when he was hit and the fire started to glow. Hitomi saw the man drop it on purpose though. He dropped it a few seconds after he got hit. The man smirked quickly then got a worried look on his face. The girl obviously had enough of waiting and took off. Her stick in hand she leaped off the tree and on the other side of the fire. She took her hand in front of her and said something Hitomi couldn't quite make out but obviously it had to do with magic for the fire went out. The men looked stunned. The one in front shook a little but went back to his first state, which was a look of anger. All of the men took out their swords as they got ready for battle. She estimated how many men their were around fifteen. 'This isn't to even…' Said a voice inside herself. It said it sarcastically. Hitomi quickly noted that each one of the men were armed and all the girl had to use as a weapon was an overgrown stick. All of the men lunged at her but she just did a back flip and quickly escaped. Hitting three men with her feet while she was at it. Hitomi was once again surprised. 'This girl knows how to fight…' She mused. The three men went unconscious from the blow her feet gave their heads. She counted how many men were left. Sine they weren't moving as fast as they were. She gathered their was thirteen men fighting the girl. There must have been sixteen before. Hitomi kept on looking at the battle. The girl used her staff sending a blow to the man in front of her then twirled it beside her and sent a blow to the one behind. The girl paused a bit and looked at the men with their swords out.

"IF you surrender now…I will give you the joy of getting out of here alive!" She said coldly. All of the men looked at each other. Five of the men put the swords back into their holder. They backed up slowly looking at the girl who had just brought down five of their men with fear. When they got about 50 yards from the end of the forest they turned around and sprinted out of the forest. They didn't care if they were called cowards. This is a rare chance to get in the Death Forest and they were taking it while they had the chance. It was called death forest because of this woman phantom. Others called her by the ancient name in Zantaki, Juearo Hateto, which means, in Zantaki, Human bird. The girl looked at the remaining six men.

"Looks like I'm going to have some fun tonight!" She said in an icy whisper. It sent chills down Hitomi's spine just listening to it. The men seemed a little self-conscious but still wanting to fight her. They brought their swords down on her but she blocked off her body with her staff. She wasn't the least bit scared of these men. Hitomi thought. She grinned for some strange reason she didn't know, 'but the men seems to be afraid of her.' The fight went on for a few minutes but Hitomi was surprised at the move the girl did that got all the men to go unconscious except for the one that led all of the men here. She did another back flip then rotated the staff moving her body with it. She then flipped back up with the stick in her hands evenly and lunged with all of her weight at the men. The leader dodged the attack but the others fell to the ground. The girl turned towards the last one. She put turned to one of the men and grabbed a sword.

"More even eh phantom?" He said. "You aren't winning this battle!" He charged but the girl dodged it. They each kept putting in their input. Suddenly the man charged again. Knocking the girl onto her back. Hitomi gasped. The girl or 'phantom' could barely do anything. The man was going to make the final blow but something came out of the bushes. The man heard it and turned around but it was to late. A caramel colored like cat pounced on him and a small pool of blood was going all around him. Her vision started to get shady. She knew that it was coming to an end.

~*~

Hitomi's eyes snapped open. What's going on? Hitomi started to reach into the water to wet down her face but before she even touched the water, she was lifted into the air by a glowing light. She shut her eyes while the force of the light was still light enough for her to do it. A few moments before the stream had a weeping girl beside it. Not now.

~*~

Van closed his eyes trying to get the whole memory in his head. Or out of it? He didn't know.

~*~ Flashback ~*~

Three men were sitting down at a table. All of them were old and seemed as if they were extremely rich from the garments they wore. Van and Merle walked into the room.

"You're late." The middle one said.

"We said we would do the meeting the minute Lord Van gets back to the castle." Merle put in wondering if it would actually help.

"You were prancing around here quite a lot!"

"Let me rephrase what I said, We said we were meeting the minute LORD VAN gets back to the castle! Not me!" The men just huffed up. Merle sat down at a seat that Van took a moment later. The man on the left started to speak.

"Lord Van, as you know you need a bride by the time you are 18-" Van and Merle both rolled their eyes but the men didn't see. "OR you will have to marry someone who your PARENTS arranged for you to get married to…"

"And who is this?"

"The princess who was born 15 rotations. 16 rotations come this year."

"Same age as me?"

"Yes…well a few months younger, but still, yes." Van shook his head. Then he remembered something.

"Didn't the last two princesses disappear years ago?"

"Yes…but they haven't died…" Merle suddenly got interested.

"How do you know that they aren't dead?" She asked. Her brow was crossed with wonder.

"Well Merle, they have a tree there that can…"

"Oh! I heard of that tree! I didn't know that we were talking about Zantaki!" Van looked at her and cocked an eyebrow and put his feet onto the table.

"How do YOU know about Zantaki Merle?"

"Well…It was one of the first places where cat humans were found! I just studied it 'cuz it was part of my history!" Van snorted. "What?" She whined. Van just looked more amused.

~*~ End Flashback ~*~

Van looked back into the water. 'What have my parents gotten me into?' He thought. Suddenly he saw a bright white light shoot from the sky.

"huh?" He said aloud. 'Hitomi…' He thought.

~*~

A/N: Do I write mush or do I write mush? I'm not so tough on the reviews as much as I was…I was just having trouble at school. Thanks to all of you who put up with me! But I would still like you to review…I think I did the chap. Thing wrong so that's why you don't see any reviews! I'm blaming myself so…see ya! R/R please!


	5. Start The Journey

Escaflowne - A Vision Reborn (4)

Start the Journey

__

By *~A White Rose Petal~*

A/N: I AM SSSOOOOOO Sorry!! I haven't written for a couple of months! Where has February gone? This one is small compared to the others though…I'm working on when Hitomi meets Jin in the next one so be patient (Like you haven't been already!)! 

~*~

Van looked up to the sky where he just saw the flash of light. A thought suddenly hit him. I have to go find Allen and get Merle! He thought. He got back onto his horse and started back for the castle.

~*~

Merle was in her room as Van expected. She was playing with a little string of beads and seemed to add more and more beads to it and expected it. She didn't like the colors she was putting on it but it wasn't for her either. It was for the court lady who shunned her…She snickered at this thought. OH! I can't _wait _till she gets her gift! She thought as she snickered again. It was then that Van knocked hastily on her door.

"Merle! You there?" Merle blinked a few times but soon came out of her stupor made from shock.

"Yeah! Wanna come in?"

"Actually I want you out of that room as soon as possible."

"Why?"

" I sent a messenger to Allen asking his presence at the castle…"

"Why?"

"Because I saw a white light shoot out of the sky…" Merle crinkled her forehead in confusion but then it dawned on her.

"H-Hitomi?" She stuttered.

"I'm not sure, and I want to find out as soon as possible."

"Right lord Van, I'll be out in a moment."

"K." Merle quickly started picking up the beads that fell on the floor.

I wonder if it really is Hitomi…She thought, I wonder what would… She walked over to her window and looked out of it and reached her hand for the sky slowly and practically carefully.

"happen." She whispered aloud. She liked how the two moons shined down on her. She wanted to keep it that way where no problems were. She knew problems were coming, or else Hitomi would not have come to help sort them out.

"Please be you Hitomi!" She whispered. "Please be you…"

~*~

Merle went into another room quietly and went over to the library, hopefully she could find what she needed there…

~*~

Merle coughed and sneezed when she inhaled dust off the older or less used book in the library. A book caught her eye quickly. It didn't have as much dust as some older ones, but it most definitely not the most used book. 'The one I used to learn about Zantaki in the first place!' She thought happily. She quickly opened it up and skimmed through it. **

~*~

"Allen!" Van said when he looked up to his long time friend.

"How have you been Van?" Van groaned.

"Depends…do you know about the advisors pestering you three years before your birthday to find a bride?"

"I'll tell you this now, it gets worse as you get older." Van groaned again. "Now…what's the reason why you sent for me?" Van looked up at Allen and looked at his hands.

"I think-I-I think Damn…to put it all together I saw a white light Allen, I think Hitomi has returned to Gaea…though I can't be sure…" Allen looked at him as though this was a joke. When he noticed that Van's face stayed grave he gave in.

"What would you like me to do?"

"I would like you to ward off the advisors for a while so I can head in the direction where I saw it, then you and Merle can catch up."

"DO you expect me to do that?"

"No but I wish that somebody would!" Allen just laughed.

"Really though…what do you plan to do?"

"Well…from the place where the light landed seemed to be Zantaki…"

"The magical empire? Where each subject has it's own hidden power, but those who are royalty are the strongest?" Van nodded his head. "I also have an alibi why I must leave to there."

"Really? What?"

"DO you know what the branches on the tree mean?"

"Yes."

"Two burned off."

"You're kid- I never heard about this!"

"I just found out about it a few days ago." Allen nodded his head.

"You seem to have this quite well planned out." Van just shrugged.

"Well?"

"I'll go if that's what you mean." Van nodded his head. "When shall we go?"

"At dawn."

~*~

At dawn the next morning, Van made sure that not to many people in the village knew that he was leaving so he could do so peacefully. As soon as they got to the forest, (Each one of them were riding horses, mainly because none of them wanted to go in a carriage) they started to speed up a little more. They went on for quite a while until they came to a grand entrance. Or what supposedly where you go to lead to it. A messenger was outside of where they supposed they enter. It bowed very low when he noticed their presence. Van saw red marks on his wrists that looked like…

"Whip marks." He whispered so that nobody but he could hear. He wasn't to sure about his plan anymore.

~*~

** = If you would like to see what Merle read, Tell me! I'll make a small book of Legends with chapters and stuff on it, I've actually already started which is kind of the reason from my absence in writing…SORRY ABOUT THAT!!!)

~*~

A/N: Hope you liked it! I'm working when Hitomi meets Jin at the moment…::looks at clock and eyes widen:: IT'S 3:07!!! My mom is going to kill me…


	6. Small Terrors

__

Escaflowne ~ A Vision Reborn (5)

Small Terrors

By *~A White Rose Petal~*

A/N: Hmmm… I've got this really cool idea coming up…now how to get there…hehe

~*~

__

Summary:

Hitomi lands in the middle of a fight, Fortunately a part cat part human was there to save her…

~*~

Zatera went into the marketplace to let Jin have some time to sleep. She just got back from her third fight this week. In earth days -- Wednesday. He sighed as he came closer to the bustling streets of Zantaki. He went over to one of the stores and brought out his money pouch, it was the same color as his ears. He bought some fruit for later. He turned his head when he saw another cat girl coming his way. 'Oh no! Not her…' He thought, 'My nightmares are coming true…' He turned his back to the gray and pinkish cat girl coming near him

"ZAT~TY! She said. The streets were so loud that nobody really paid attention. The only problem was, was that he could still hear it.

"Must-get-out-alive!" He whispered hoarsely, fighting his way through the crowd. He turned a corner not really noticing which one it was. When he had a chance to see where he went, he cursed slightly. "A dead end!" he said staring at a brick wall "Of all the places that I could have turned, I had to turn on Bloke! ARGH!" But before he had a chance to escape, what he was trying to run from appeared.

"ZATTY!" the girl said again, coming closer to him.

"H-Hey Katy…" He said nervously. 'Why am I the one she always chases? She has tons of other guys already bowing to her feet! I don't understand why they would do that though…I'd think they'd stink.' 

"Oh Zat! Have you heard?"

"Have I heard what?" He asked while looking for an escape route.

"The king of Fanailia is coming! You're going to lead me to the main gates when he comes in aren't you?" She asked looking innocent and sad if he didn't, to get him to give in.

"Um…I wasn't planning on going…" he choked out. 'Ugh! He's impossible!' Katy thought. 'He's the only boy in this full town who won't go out with me! He hasn't even flirted!' She thought, getting angrier every second. She was one of the prettiest Cat girls in the kingdom; smarts were with her too. So what could Zatera not like about her? Her attitude.

"Listen to me Zatera!" She said, losing her patience. "You WILL be leading me to the main gates tomorrow at high noon no matter WHAT! Got that?" She asked the last part sweetly. Zatera himself was losing his patience but not as much as Katy was hers.

"Kate, listen, I wasn't planning on going and I still don't! Now listen to me-_I will not lead you to the gates tomorrow! _Got that?" He mimicked her got that and was able to sneak around her arms and ran as fast as he could to get away from there. But right before he got to the other side, he and Katy both saw the white light.

"What's that?" She whispered. Zat took this moment to run, unfortunately for him, his curiosity got the best of him and he ran the same direction as Katy.

~*~

Hitomi opened her eyes only to see two men fighting and two groups around them. She thought they didn't know that she was even their until one of the fighters spoke up.

"I'M going to get her!" He yelled, while placing a fist in the offenders stomach. Hitomi's eyes widened, she tried to muve backwards but somebody grabbed her wrist.

"Well look what we've got here!" it said, "Sleepin' Beaut' woke up!" They all turned to her and grinned and laughed so horribly, Hitomi felt daggers being put into her just from listening to it, then everybody presumed to stare at the fight with a few more chuckles going around the crowd.

~*~

Zatera ran to the top of the building where the light was closet. That was when he heard a high grunt.

"Oh Zatty! What's going on?" Katy asked him. She tried to look weak to get him to feel superior to her.

"Look down." He said without glancing up at her. Katy growled a little bit but looked down.

"A gang fight! What could they be fighting over?" She asked. Zatera pointed to the girl. two of the largest and strongest men were, one from each side, grabbed her arms to show that it was THEIR two groups with the agreement.

"That poor girl…" Katy said sadly. "Oh well! Come on Zat! There's nothing interesting here!" She popped back to her normal self. When she turned around to see if he was following her or not, I'll she saw was that he jumped.

~*~

"RRREEEEEEEOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWW!" Pierced the air around the two gangs. The darkness of the night hid who it was leaping down. The creature jumped onto both of the men's backs who were holding the hostage, putting his claws deep into them, causing them to yell loudly from the pain. Everybody from the gangs started for him. He picked the girl up who fought a little against him, apparently wanting to leave as soon as possible. Katy had no interest in what was going on and left. It was good for Zatera also, that way he didn't need to worry about her reaction when the gangs would start to say "He's entered Death Forest!" Which he did.

~*~

"Zat! What have you brought?" Jin asked the cat teen. He seemed to be holding the unconciuos body of a girl.

"Two gangs were fighting 'over' her." He said. Jin nodded her head. "Alright, take her into my room and lie her down I'll get out a cot." She said. Zatera nodded and followed her instructions.

'She seems familiar…' Jin thought, ' I've seen those eyes before…'

~*~

A/N: You know the role! R/R = READ AND REVIEW!!!

___________

C O N T E S T?/?C H A L L E N G E

A contest…cool! I'll be the judge! This is a contest that well…just follow the rules and you'll get it from there!

  1. Must be at least ten KB -- I don't want short stuff!
  2. Rating - **G** OR **PG** OR **PG13**
  3. May NOT be YAOI or YURI! (I don't have anything against it, I just don't like it!)
  4. Must have Hitomi kiss Van / Van kiss Hitomi (Can be dream sequence or something…)
  5. Put this in your fic so they understand what's up!

PRIZE

Prizes

1st place * I dedicate a story to them (not series!), and put a link to their authors loft and their story on each of the finishing chapters and epilogue when I figure who the winner's are.

2nd place * I dedicate a poem to them and link their story to my finishing chapter and epilogue.

3rd place * I dedicate a chapter to them (of Escaflowne - A Vision Reborn)

4th place and under * A list of the people who participated in the contest. (includes 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners) places will not be put in order!

What You Need To Do!

You know what…how will I know if your story is part of the contest? Do all of the following to get your story in!

E-mail me at [www.crookshanksclaw@cs.com][1] with the following!

  * Title of Story
  * Rating
  * What about -- Summary or plot but NOT the plot line!
  * What your pen name is under fanficiton.net!
  * All entries in BEFORE April 5…

That's it! Hope to see your story!

   [1]: mailto:www.crookshanksclaw@cs.com



	7. Acquaintances Acquaintances

__

Escaflowne ~*~ A Vision Reborn (6)

*~A White Rose Petal~*

A/N: I'm starting my writing again big time aren't I?

~*~

Summary:

Hitomi wakes up to find herself in a cabin that holds a cat boy and an older girl than both of them. -- Van enters the city along with Merle and Allen. What will they find there?

~*~

Hitomi let her eyes flutter open and look around. It looked well kept for a cabin. She looked out one of the windows. Trees were everywhere. It looked dark. 'Must be late…' She mused. It was then her sleepiness mind halted. 'Where the hell am I?' She wondered. She started looking around frantically. Hitomi started to climb out of the bed she was sleeping in.

"Don't!" Said a voice from the floor. It said it groggily, still tired.

"Huh? Who's there?" Hitomi wondered aloud.

"AGH! Watch where you put your foot!"

"Huh oh, sorry." Hitomi said. The girl just nodded in response. When the girl went to the other side of the room Hitomi asked a question. "Where am I?" The girl looked over to her briefly, and put her hands back into the bowl.

"In a cabin."

"I noted that, thank you anyway!" Hitomi said sarcastically. The girl grinned. She walked back over to Hitomi and laid her down.

"You need more rest um…"

"Hitomi."

"Hitomi. You can call me Jin."

~*~

Van looked at the man in front of him. He seemed to have some difficulty directing his power towards the door because of his lashed wrists. The door looked like one of those ancient doors that hide treasure behind them, only if you can get through the brush and trees. Suddenly he heard the door start to creak open. The messenger gave a sigh of relief.

"Follow me, your majesty and his majesties companions."

~*~

"JIN!" Zatera said, running through the doors.

"What? I'm trying to figure out what's wrong with her shoulder! I think they might have used more strength on her than what they were supposed to!"

"I agree!" Hitomi said weakly. She was starting to fall asleep again, knowing she didn't need to worry about her safety here.

"I know Jin! But the thing is, is that the king of Fanailia is coming! I forgot to tell you that before!" Hitomi's eyes snapped open and she literally jumped out of the bed, tripping a little from her bad knee.

"_Van!_" She whispered. Tears sprang to her eyes. Tears of joy and pain put together, making a pain in her chest. "_Van!_" She whispered again as she got back onto the bed again and cried lightly into her hands.

"YOU KNOW HIM?!" Zatera said looking at the girl who was crying into her hands. He noted that he nodded her head slightly.

"You-You know wh-what?" Hitomi asked between sobs. "On earth, it felt like years when it was really only a week since I last saw him…"

"You mean you've seen him recently!" Jin asked.

"But that means that-that…" Zatera stuttered loss for words, "You're-You're…"

"Hitomi, the mystic moon girl? Does that work Zat?" Jin asked. Zat nodded lightly.

"I never thought I'd get to meet you! Much less _save _you!" He said.

"And I um…thank you for that…" Hitomi said looking at the ceiling nervously. Jin looked at Hitomi and noticed she was becoming tense.

"Zat…you might want to leave because of what I'm going to do next…"  


"You aren't…you are…UGH! Bye!" Zatera said as he raced out of the door.

"Wh-what are you going to do-do?" Hitomi stuttered.

"It's best you don't know," Jin said, "Or the pain will hurt worse." Hitomi looked at her nervously.

"I don't think I want to do-do thi-this…" She stuttered again.

"It will help you heal faster, now turn your head, I don't think that you'll want to watch…" Jin said, there was a bit of worry in her voice. Hitomi did as she was told.

Suddenly Hitomi heard a large crack along with searing pain. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" She yelled, she felt a hand clamp over her mouth.

"Cry, it's quieter and it gets more out than yelling." Hitomi started crying uncontrolably, "Get some sleep Hitomi, you'll feel better in the morning, trust me." She saw Hitomi nod a little as she cried herself to sleep minutes later.

~*~

"I hope you didn't hurt her to much Jin!" Zatera said, tailing her.

"Yes I hurt her but she'll feel better in the morning!"

"You put the bone back in it's socket!"

"I know what I did Zat! This way she can heal faster!"

"She better!" He scoffed.

~*~

The three looked all over the crowd that was surrounding them. The ones that were closer to the castle seemed worse kept than those farther away from it. But Van did have to admit, they did not have any people dying on the streets, unlike other countries he had visited. The kings seemed to think that it was fashionable. Van just thought it was sick. When they got closer to the doors that led to the castle, they were again opened with magic. The guards, who were doing the magic, were wearing dark green clothes all over. They didn't seem like they could do much, they looked like lords of the castle instead of guards.

They opened up the doors and the other three trotted through. The trumpets blared and a woman came out who had black hair with silver and white streaks in it.

"Lord Van." She said curtseying. Van nodded his head. Merle and Allen followed his suit. "My guards will show you to your sleeping quarters. Jaseck over there, shall take care of your horses. She smiled at Van but he paid no attention as he walked towards the castle with servants carrying his bags whether he wanted them to or not.

~*~

A/N: Another chapter done! Yippee! I better go work on my other series now…(Oh Together Again) See ya!

P.S.

DON'T FORGET ABOUT THE CONTEST ON PART 5!!!!!


	8. The Winds Blow

__

Escaflowne ~ A Vision Reborn (7)

The Winds Blow

By *~A White Rose Petal~*

[Cheetahgirl29@hotmail.com][1]

__

A/N: Dun, Dun, Dun…four different chapters in one weekend…GO ME!!! Hehe.

~*~

Summary:

Wanda, angry that Van barely even notices her, wants to make him feel higher than her so she can take his kingdom, though she is six yrs. Older than him. Though it doesn't make a difference.

~*~

Hitomi looks around the forest and sees an animal that might help her in the future if she can help it. Can she help a mythical creature that she only believed in when she was a child?

~*~

"Don't wander Hitomi. Not to many people come in here but those who do want to try to kill me so…" Jin said while washing her hands the next morning.

"You're wanted dead?" Hitomi asked.

"Yeah, ZAT GET SOME MORE WATER! Sorry about that."

"It's alright, if you don't mind, why are you wanted dead?"

"I s' pose because you're from the blue moon you wouldn't have heard of me, I mean my 'other' self." Hitomi cringed while she remembered Dilandou.

"Nothing like silver head boy." Jin saw Hitomi shudder. There was really nothing cold in the cabin so…Hitomi calmed down a bit.

"What do you mean by 'other self'?"

"Well, you see, the people who want me dead call me the woman phantom. There's only one problem though."

"Yeah, what's that?"

"A phantom is old, very old. I'm only seventeen."

"Two years older than me." Hitomi said not knowing anything to say.

"Hey, I'm sorry you didn't really get a chance to see L. Van come in except from a roof."

"Huh? Oh, that's alright, I didn't really want him to see me that much." Jin looked shocked. Fake shocked.

"YOU? And how come if I may ask?" Jin pulled out a chair and turned it around so that she was sitting backwards on it. Hitomi looked sideways and looked nervous. Jin let out a fake happy sigh. "Ah, young love!"

"WHAT?!" Hitomi yelled looking very nervous. Jin fell onto the floor laughing.

"OK, I'm-I'm sorry, but-but that was fun-fun-funny…" Jin laughed. Hitomi groaned.

"How long am I going to stay here with you two?" She asked covering up her face with her hands.

"I don't know , excuse me will you?" Hitomi thought she was going to leave, she didn't.

"Sure."

"ZAT GET THE WATER HERE SPAT!" Hitomi cringed. "Sorry, I'm saying that a lot here aren't I?" Hitomi nodded.

"How far did you say I can go?"

"You can go wherever you want to as long as you don't get lost, you do and Zat will find you. See any armies or men saying 'Kill the phantom, kill the phantom!' or something come and tell me."

"Want you dead?"

"Want me dead."

~*~

Merle was looking around her room. She thought that she would get a better room here than other kingdoms who think that cat people are lowly. It looked exactly the same t her though. Very shabby. Merle groaned. 'This is the kingdom with the most free cat people, you'd think they'd know how to treat them!' She thought. 'Ugh! Beetle!' She jumped up and landed on her bed. 'Ah, safe.'

~*~

Wanda was walking around the room. 'This can't be happening!' She thought. 'I look better than all of the other's he's supposed to marry! Even the other princesses say so!' But then something clicked in her head. 'Wait, you aren't a princess, you're a queen.' She started laughing horribly. 'I must call the nearest potion master…' She thought.

~*~

Hitomi was walking around the forest slowly. The forest was lush. It had tons of greens all over it. 'Beautiful…' She thought. She walked deeper and deeper into it. the farther she walked the fuller the brush got. 'No wonder Jin and Zat put their cabin here, if their wanted dead, it would take a while before anyone could find them!' She thought back to the last few days. She heard a sound that sounded like pain. It was a neigh. 'A horse? Here? Wild ones only live in open plains, or so I heard!' Hitomi walked over the stone and sticks that were all laid out everywhere from a storm recently but being in the forest, how do you know. Hitomi rounded the corner and gasped.

"A unicorn…' She whispered. The unicorn looked at her, it's black eyes blazing.

~*~

A/N: CONTEST ON PART FIVE!!! I'm getting a lot of stories done aren't I…

   [1]: mailto:Cheetahgirl29@hotmail.com



	9. Silver Blood

Escaflowne ~ A Vision Reborn (8)

__________________________________________________________

By *~A White Rose Petal~*

A/N: UGH! Another chapter! My hands are tired but I'm sure that you're all happy aren't ya?

|=0=|:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: A sword maybe? =*_*= hehe.

~*~

Summary:

Hitomi wonders how a unicorn is in the middle of this forest. Why is there no other animals around it that it could have got hurt from? Why is there no human around it that might have injured it?

~*~

Van goes to the dining hall…

~*~

Hitomi looked at the animal in wonder. She never thought that they were even real and here is one, right in front of her!

"A unicorn…" She whispered again. She walked over to it carefully, it keeping it's gaze on her the full time. It was then Hitomi saw a strange liquid coming out of it. It looked like pure silver silk lying on the ground. She touched it lightly making sure that it was liquid. The unicorn neighed with annoyance. Hitomi was frightened when she saw it's horn, it seemed to be pointing to the sky. It was around two feet tall. Hitomi thought. It was all white, it didn't even look like it was dirty.

The unicorn kicked it's leg again and Hitomi went over to it. 'An arrow!' Hitomi thought. There was an arrow in the unicorn and it seemed to go very deep. Hitomi saw the silver liquid rushing out of the horses leg . 'Oh my God!' She thought. 'It's blood!'

~*~

Van was putting on his best suit, to him, for no reason at all. He tries to avoid wearing it at all costs. Not because he wants to keep it clean, but because he plain can't stand wearing it. 'It feels starched up as ever…' He thought. 'I need to find Merle…'

"Mer-"

"Here lord Van."

"How'd you do that so fast?"

"I knew you were going to have troubles with that suit! You ALWAYS do!"

"Gee, don't I feel special." Van said sarcastically.

''You should now turn around! It's the only way to get the dang collar on right!"

"Now I feel like a dog." Van said shaking his head sadly.

"Now don't worry Van! You aren't as bad as one of them!" Van turned his head around.

"A war that doesn't end for the two different origins so to speak?"

"Pretty much, it's lasted centuries!"

~*~

I wonder where she is… Jin thought while putting the dishes in the sink. 'Zat didn't bring enough water…I swear, if he doesn't bring enough water next time, it'll be HIM who does the dishes!'

~*~

Hitomi carefully went over to the unicorns cut. She started whispering words to make it less afraid of her, though she thought they seemed more for her than the unicorn. The unicorn looked at her the whole time, scaring her a little bit more. 'Calm down to Hitomi,' She thought to herself, 'It's just a different kind of horse! A different kind of horse of horse that looks like it's about two feet long and a very sharp tip! EEP!' She thought. She made sure though, that it was not apparent on the outside of her. Hitomi put her hands around the arrow but stopped herself. 'If I take the arrow out, it'll just bleed more, so then what do I do?' She thought. She then got an idea and looked at the unicorn that was under her.

"You hang in there for a while alright?" She whispered to him. The unicorn neighed in response.

"I'll take that as a yes." She whispered. She stood up and ran to the cabin.

~*~

"Hitomi! Hey! Um, what's wrong?" Jin asked.

"Jin! I-I need a towel! A very long towel that you don't need anymore! Or a sheet, either will do fine!" Hitomi gasped quickly. Jin looked at her. She though wasn't one really to ask questions. She just shrugged.

"I have a quilt in the back room that I despise, would that work?"

"Only if it's sort of large…" Hitomi said quickly, gaining her breath.

"Yeah, it is, let me go get it." Jin left the kitchen and went straight to her room and opened up another door from there that linked her and Zatera's rooms. She grabbed a quilt that had patches made of handkerchief pieces. She walked back into the kitchen through Zatera's room and handed it to Hitomi.

"Thanks!" Hitomi said quickly. Jin looked at the girl who was running ahead. 'I wonder what she's up to…' She thought. She just shook it off quickly. 'I'm not going to spy on her.' She thought. She went back into the cabin thinking that Zatera better get back to the cabin soon or 'he's very ears are going to fall to the ground!' She thought, remembering how he sometimes spoke.

~*~

A/N: AH! The 8th chapter done! I feel proud…I'm not going to get the next part out until I get ten reviews for this one under chapter eight. So in other words…REVIEW!!!


	10. A New Thought and Worry

__

Escaflowne ~ A Vision Reborn (9)

A New Thought and Worry

By *~A White Rose Petal~*

A/N: I'm being nice and putting this out early…I have a VERY important question at the bottom but I'll say it now too just in case I forget…hehe! HOW DO YOU SIGN UP FOR AWARDS?! DO YOU SIGN UP?! I HAVEN'T GOT A CLUE! Sorry for the capitolization, I wanted it to grab attention…to the story!

~*~  
Summary:

Hitomi helps the unicorn as much as she can. She wonders why the unicorn is even here but she let's her mind rest for a while as she decides to ask Jin for help.

~*~  
Van's back after the dinner feeling very dirty, he decides when they should start looking for Hitomi…

~*~

Hitomi held the blanket to the unicorn's wound, watching it soak up the silver blood. The blood doesn't seem to be able to slow down. 'If I had somebody to help me…' She thought. She brought the corners of the blanket together and tied them to each other. She looked at the unicorn, wondering what to do. She took in a deep breath and let it out.

"I'm going to get help, ok?" She whispered to him. She put her hand behind his ear as he backed up his head gently and neighed. "I'll take that as a yes, all right?" She whispered. She got up from her sitting position in the grass and turned around and started running to the cabin that Jin was in.

~*~  
"JIN!" Hitomi yelled when she came to the house. Jin was reading a book at the table when Hitomi ran into the kitchen.

"What? Hitomi what's wrong?" She put her bookmark, a small slip of paper, between two pages and carefully put the book back down on the table. "Well?" She repeated as Hitomi caught her breath.

"I-I need your help…" Hitomi gasped, realizing how long she must be taking. She grabbed Jin's wrist and dragged her out of the door.

'She runs fast…' Was Jin's last thought as the two raced out of the door to where the unicorn lay injured.

~*~

"Of course you may go back to your room! No need to ask!" Wanda purred to Van. Merle caught a nervous glance from Van. She chuckled lightly. "What's so funny Gir-Merle?" Wand said. She started off stern but then on her name said it sweetly. Merle just looked at Wanda who, might I add and having trouble, had a smile on her face that just spoke words of poison. Merle had already seen this look from her ever since she came here and didn't really care. She shared the same feelings that Wanda had for her. Merle looked towards the ceiling innocently.

"I don't know what you mean, your highness." Merle said sweetly. Van has been gone from the room for the last several minutes before Merle even spoke.

"You know damn well what I mean girl!" Wanda said. Merle just shrugged and took the mask off of her face.

"Whether I'm telling you the truth or not, it doesn't make that much of a difference. You can't beat it out of me." Merle said calmly as she pounced from her seat in a cat like fashion.

"I can't huh?" Wanda said it as if daring Merle to say yeah, which she did.

"Yeah, pretty much."

"Gua-" Wanda started.

"I'm a friend as lord Van's and came as one! You can not do anything to me unless he agrees with it! You gave him those very rules earlier remember!" Merle said it all very quickly. Wanda put her hand down in defeat, but making sure it didn't really look like that.

"Alright." Merle looked at her through slits.

"I'm going to my room. I just thought that I should tell you." With that she huffed off to go to her room.

~*~

Van looked at his ceiling thinking to himself. 'We came here to find Hitomi and we haven't even started!' He thought sourly. He took out one of his hands that were behind his head and jammed it onto his bed. 'I need to go find Allen.' He thought. 'We start our journey at dawn. Better to go in light than any other time.' He thought. He has already been told and has known much already about death forest.

~*~

Jin looked at the animal in front of her in wonder. She saw Hitomi lean down by the unicorn and push the cloth onto it's wound more for pressure. Jin looked shocked and remembered something.

"Hitomi do-" She started to say. But then something hit her. 'She's touching the unicorns blood! But the blood is poison to certain…I knew it, don't get excited…it could just be that she's from the blue moon…' She thought. She kneeled down by the unicorn with tears in her eyes before helping Hitomi pull the quilt around the unicorn tighter. 'But there's always a chance…' She thought. She didn't get her hopes up though. She gave up on this. Didn't she?

~*~  
A/N: Give up on what? I bet you're wondering…well that's a later chapter hehe sorry…got carried away hehe. I have this new THANKIES! Thing on the bottom of my page…are you on there?

p.s.

How do you get awards? Is there certain authors with thingys in there profile or something? Thanks.

~*~

Prologue THANKIES! To…

Yolei, Raymei Ana Laramii Klisea (Long name!), Wren, and leslie.

~*~

Chapter 1 THANKIES! To…

Taiyl, and jus1digigirl.

~*~

Chapter 2 THANKIES! To…

WOAH! No one reviewed chapter 2…Least not on the review panel thingy…

~*~  
Chapter 3 THANKIES! To…

may, silver sea star, Alexandra, …(interesting name - If I do say so myself! ~ AWRP), Yolei (Have I seen you on here before? OK, sorry! Crumby joke!), ??? (Should I put you on here…you said my fic sucked but I believe in constructive criticsm…if that's what it is…), ~*¤Angel¤Hitomi¤*~, Kerochan, Dana, Shayla, relena angle of spirit, Harmoney, and Nikki.

~*~

Chapter 4 THANKIES! To…  


**Blinks** No reviews for chapter 4…then again…I suppose I put Chapter five out a little fast…

~*~  
Chapter 5 THANKIES! To…

elizabeth, ~OKI~, and methyl. (ß hm…short list hehe)

~*~

Chapter 6 THANKIES! To…

may, and Emilie Fanel. (ß even shorter! Hehe)

~*~

Chapter 7 THANKIES! To…

may, Sakura, Spooky Fyre, and jus1digigirl.

~*~

Chapter 8 THANKIES! To…

Dark Angel, keoko-sama, may, ~*¤Angel¤Hitomi¤*~, jus1digigirl, and ~OKI~.

~*~

Put in your reviews whether or not I should do THANKIES! On the rest of my fic. I will not put up flamers! Is it that hard to see? Constructive critiscism…maybe.


	11. Paths Intertwine

**__**

Escaflowne ~ A Vision Reborn (10)

Paths Intertwine

By *~A White Rose Petal~*

A/N: I'll let this out early. I was wondering though -- could you check this place out? [http://www.merlesroom.homestead.com/][1] Thanx! THIS IS LONGER THAN THE OTHERS! I had a stroke of inspiration, and I wanted to get as much in it as possible.

~*~

WARNING: BLOODY and GORY! GORY and BLOODY! Got that?

~*~

Summary:

Van, Merle, and Allen set foot for the forest...

~*~

Jin gets ready for another fight (ß gory, I described it pretty well for me…)

~*~

Zatera was looking around the town. People seemed to be extremely nervous, at least more than usual. He tried to ask one of the shop owners but they just said that they were too busy to bother with him and that they needed their shops to look cleaner than what it ever was before. Zatera looked at the woman who just shooed him out of her embroidery shop. He tilted his head to the side as she walked back in. 'I wonder what's with her?' He thought.

"Oh Zatty! Guess what!" Said a sweet little voice. He groaned and acted dead on the sidewalk. Whoever said his name landed gracefully on her feet, her green cloak covering her completely. Zatera however, who has been through this before and knew very well who it was.

"What do you want Kate?" 'You!' She thought. She didn't let it show on her face though.

"What do you mean Zat?" Zat looked up at her, looking angry.

"You were just on the roof, and yelled 'Guess what!' so now what do you want or do I need to give you another speech?"

"I'll live without one." Zatera huffed up.

"Well?" He asked again. Kate looked at her hands. "KATE!?"

"Ugh! You aren't patient are you Zat? Arg! You know, if you really want to know…"

"What?" Zatera said looking to the ground, in a way of showing defeat.

"Say…a date?" She said looking to the sky.

"WHAT?! NO!" Zatera exploded.

"Fine! Than I won't give you the information!"

"That's fine with me! I'm not that desperate!" Zatera said. He turned around and started pouncing back to another store for cover before he went into Death Forest. Katy put her index finger under her chin and rubbed it. Her eyes snapped open.

"ZATERA!" She yelled. "WAIT!" Zatera started to slow down and caught his breath. Also letting her catch up.

"What?" He asked looking at her. Katy slowed down to catch her breath. She grinned when she looked back up at him.

"Zatera, the king of Fanailia's here!"

"So? You already told me that!"

"Yes, but-"

"Everybody's shops need to be spick and span when he comes right?" Katy did a fake faint.

"I never thought that you would catch up Zat!" She said sarcastically. He shook his head at her and put his palm to his forehead. He took it off and looked over into the distance, where the dark forest was. "What are you looking at Zat?" She asked. She started to slowly move over to his side, hoping they would get a 'moment' together. Zatera, however, noticed what she was doing and started to walk over the other way.

"It's 7:30ish, shouldn't you be going on a date or something?" He asked looking at her.

"You want one?"

"No. I want you to get away from me…" He said. He would have finished it if there hadn't been a crowd erupting, as it seems, all over the place.

"Oh Zatty!" Katy said, "It's Lord Van! Come on! Let's go see!" She was about to turn around and grab his wrist if needed, but he wasn't there.

~*~  
"JIN!" Zatera yelled as he ran into the kitchen. Hitomi was washing her hands and Jin was reading her book again, both coming back from the unicorn incident.

"You two have a way of always running into here while I'm reading don't you?" Hitomi asked put her book down. "Well?" she asked.

"Lo-Lord Van…" Hitomi immediately dropped the rag that was in her hand and grasped the sink.

"Wh-what?"

"He's supposed to be getting supplies for something from what I can tell." He said, plopping down into a chair form the other side of Jin.

"Supplies for what?"

"No idea." Zatera said as he grabbed an apple and took a bite out of it. "Hmm…we need to go to a different store for fruits." He said absentmindedly. Jin saw Hitomi edge over to the room she was using (Jin's) and open up the door. She turned her attention back to Zatera.

"Why do you need to go to a new store?"

"Because that one is owned by Katy's aunt."

"Katy, Katy, is that, that girl who you come home barfing about as you say?"

"The same one."

~*~

Hitomi sat on the bed staring at her hands. She thought that she should be crying right now. She wasn't. She thought that she should be smiling with pure joy. She wasn't. All she was doing was staring down at her hands, thinking about what she did with the others…Merle, Allen, Millerna, and of course Van. Then she knew why she had to be alone with her thoughts that she didn't seem to have. 'Their going on another adventure…' She thought. She laughed a laugh with no humor in it at the word 'adventure', 'And I'm not in it." She thought.

~*~  
"Your majesty! Your Majesty!" Merle mimicked. It wasn't to be cruel to the villagers, it was just to get on Van's nerves. She was succeeding very well.

"Merle, shut up." He said dryly. "If I have to endure this much longer I'm going to faint!"

"I'm glad you're not going to die!" She said back at him, sticking her tongue out at him. He just groaned. Allen however was ignoring them, in his mind he was reviewing all deaths in Death Forest, and how they were done. Studies proved they died quickly, but the way they died usually takes a slow time. Even he wasn't sure what his battle skills could do to the Juearo Hateto *. They were following a group that wanted to show that they could get rid of the phantom once and for all. 'I hope this gets us somewhere…' Van thought.

~*~

Jin was drinking some hot chocolate and reading the last paragraph in her book. 'As Hagrid had said, what would come, would come…and he would have to meet it when it did.** FINISHED!' She thought.

"Now for a stretch." She said as she started to stand up.

"Wanna good stretch?" Zat asked. Looking up at her with his don't-kill-the-messenger look plus the Get-ready-for-a-fight face put together. "I hear someone coming, left side by the tall maple Jin!" jin groaned and waved her hands at him.

"I'm going, I'm going…" She groaned as she brought her hands behind her back and walked out of the door.

~*~

"JUEARO HATETO!" A man yelled along with many others. The group that Van, Allen, and Merle were following. They looked as the man in front started to wave his torch around in circles. It's flames dancing against the trees green leaves, making eerie patterns on them.

"WOMAN PHANTOM! ARE YOU SCARED?" One of them yelled. The group started laughing at this but it was soon silenced. Merle signaled to Van that she was going to get a better look. When he nodded his head, she leaped off the ground and straight onto the tree trunk on the other side of her. Merle got to what seemed like a perch. She gaped at the spectacle before her, not much different from what Hitomi had. A girl in whether pants and a white shirt, holding a staff in her hand, against all of those men? 'Impossible, right?' Merle thought as she looked at the girl. She seemed collected, as if she has done this before. Merle had to remind herself that she did.

"If I was scared I would have surrendered to the first battle I fought." She said back to him with no emotion. Her eyes seemed dull. As if she was bored standing there. The first one grabbed his sword and pulled it out. He charged at her, merciless. With no prevail. Merle's eyes widened. The girl picked up her staff and made one of it's ends go through the first one. He hit his head on the tree, blood started running out of it without fail. Merle recoiled at the sight. It was making her sick to her stomach. There were seven others there. She walked over to the man and picked him up by the collar. She pushed his head back. She stopped when she heard a snap, loud enough to be mistaken for as a small bomb. Though Merle was above the fight, she thought that she saw a glint of sadness in her eyes. 'Would you want to kill like that?' She asked herself understanding the girl's grief. She looked down at Van and Allen, both who saw the girl by now. Both looked a little pale, not expecting to see that apparently, as they saw worse before.

~*~

'So that's how they die so fast…' Allen thought. He didn't really want to think it but it was a question that bothered him all the time they started coming, 'She must be able to put the bones right back in place afterwards to hide how they died quickly, or made sure that they did.'

~*~

Jin looked at the battle she was fighting. None of the other men come close to her. It was one of the few times when she disposed of the leader first. But nothing really new. They all started to tense up, they started to grab their swords. They all charged at her at the same time. Jin put her hands in the very middle of her staff as the swords started to cut through it. She pulled down with all of her might, bringing two swords that stuck to her staff with it. She picked them up, one at a time, as fast as she could and through them into a bush nearby. She stuck her staff into the throat of one of them and pushed it straight down. She could hear his gasping as he took his last breaths but she ignored it. She always ignored it. The other one seemed to have disappeared. She felt a fist on her back. It sent her tumbling forwards.

"AH!" She gasped. She put her elbow pointing down for it to take up most of the shock. She rolled over when she felt the sword start to swing down on her. She heaved herself off the ground ignoring the pain in her back. 'I can tend to it later,' She thought, 'I've got other things to worry about right now!'

~*~

Merle heard a sound behind her but she ignored it. The fight was more interesting than some creature going back to it's home to her. She felt a hand go over her mouth.

"Who are you and who are your companions?" The voice said coldly. Merle shivered from it. He slowly removed his hand from her mouth so she could speak. When she started to turn around he stopped her before she could see his face.

"Don't, just answer." He said. Merle looked down to the fight again. She took a deep breath and let it out.

"M-My na-name is M-Merle…" She said carefully. She felt him lighten his grip on the back of her dress lighten.

"Your companions?" He said. Merle grinned inside knowing that this might catch the person who was behind her off guard.

"My companions are Lord Van, and Sir Allen." She said clearly. She heard a small whisper behind her "They look different in those clothes…". She put all of her attention back to the fight. She looked to her right to see who the boy was, only to find a tawny looking teen cat like herself, except a boy basically.

~*~  
Hitomi was sleeping in her room. She hadn't woken up since she put her feet under the covers. She fell asleep almost instantly. Relief for her. The only problem was a vision came during it.

__

~*~ VISION {Hitomi's POV} ~*~

I was running. My legs urged me to move. I don't remember what I was running from, just that I was running. It makes no sense! Why run if I have nothing to run from? Suddenly I halted. I looked around the dark room that I was walking in now. I heard chanting in a language that sounded so familiar to me! Like I heard it as a child and it clung to me for all of these years. I even knew what a few words meant like Chye [sounds like - shy] means crown and that yesad [SL - ye - sad (like it looks)] means power! I saw cloaked figures come up to the cauldron that seemed to appear out of nowhere. They then started speaking in my native tongue. It sounded so odd and familiar rhyme…wait…not a rhyme, a prophecy…

****

Powers join,

Magic swells,

The night nears,

As day dwells.

Lightning will flash,

Silver will strike against it,

Forces never seen,

Shan't fret.

The secret reveals

On the night of destiny,

When one is caught

By ones' trap

May the killer

Go and join the presel ***

Both shall fight

Till the enemy is killed

Shall they not

A dark period will loom

It's sky darkened with black,

Fear, terror and doom.

__

I recoiled. It wasn't the nicest little piece of 'poetry' I ever heard.

~*~

She heard one of the men leaving the fight. She put a finger into the air, indicating one. The others looked at her, wondering what she was doing. They heard a scream, but didn't look back.

~*~  
Merle saw Jin put her finger into the air. She looked over at the boy only to see him pouncing to the ground.

"Huh?" She thought aloud. Her curiosity got the better of her. She dismissed this fight and went over to the other side of the tree. She saw the boy jumping onto a mans back. He brought his claw forward and put them right at the sides of his head and brought them back. Merle just stood there, looking astounded.

~*~

"Well…seems like you three are the only ones left eh? Don't think I'm going to let you off. I'm in a bad mood and I want to let off some steam." She said standing to her full height.

"And don't think that we won't!" Said one of the men. He seemed to be second in charge or taking the spot over at least. Jin looked at him, eye blazing.

"Who sent you?"

"We sent ourselves."

"Yeah right - I was able to beat it out of different groups, did you come from Wanda 's army?" She asked.

"Lady Wanda has nothing to do with this."

"Give me the information and you live - or die a painless death. Depends on how long you keep me waiting." She said, glaring at them. One of the men came forward.

"We-we did co-come from L-Lady Wan-Wanda, Juearo Hateto." He said. He seemed to be trying to do it easily as possible. Stuttering as he did. Jin looked at him.

"What have you to live for?" The man looked startled but smiled and nodded his head.

"M-My wife is five months pregnant…"

"You may leave."

"Thank you!" He said smiling. Something he never thought he would do to the woman phantom. He turned around and ran back to the village.

"You two didn't answer me. How come?" The men looked at her as if she was crazy. In their minds, she was.

"Be-because we are not cowards!"

"I believe you are not a coward, but whoever sent you was…" Jin mused. Her anger was rising again. "And it was you who kept on pestering me…" She said. Both men had their swords out stretched. They charged at her and she blocked, the pain started coming back. She couldn't ignore it. "Arg!" She said as she fell to the ground. She heard the men reaching down to pick her up but what surprised her was that the men both fell to the ground with their own blood. 'Somebody snuck up on them, and I couldn't hear them…' She thought. 'Ty!" She thought. She put her fists on th ground but instead felt herself being picked up.

"Let go Tyler." She said.

"I'd rather not, it's rare to see you like this…"

"AGH! I'm trapped." Jin joked. She didn't fight though, her back wouldn't allow it.

"Where's the annoying fur b-" He said but stopped. Both of them heard a sound from the right side of them. "Who goes there?" He said to the area he heard the sound. Allen came forward.

"We are sorry to to-"

"Who the hell are you?" Jin asked. Allen was about to answer when he saw Merle and a cat boy come down. Van himself came out.

"Annoy Cat! I wish to grant a wish from you!" Tyler said squeaking his voice up to the cat boy. Who started into a position to pounce until he saw the Jin was in Tyler's arms.

"Damn." He cursed silently.

"As I was saying. I am Allen-"

"The one knight let's see here something knight of Austria?"

"Pretty much." Allen said shaking his head sadly at Zatera who didn't know the full thing but knew who he was.

"I'm Merle! That's Lord Van!" She said. She was probably the less pale of the three who were still recovering from how the girl killed with her staff. Mainly because she met Zatera, but only a little. Jin nodded her head.

"Why have you come?" She asked.

"To find someone." Van said, speaking up for the first time since the fight.

"I believe I know where she is. Follow Tyler or Zat, whoever."

"Tyler or Zat?" Allen asked.

"This lug is Tyler." Jis said pointing to the blond haired boy who glared at her.

"And the cat teen there is Zatera."

~*~

Merle chose to follow Zatera. They were jumping off tree branch to tree branch, all the way to Jin's cabin. It got harder and harder for Merle to follow when the thickness of the trees got thicker and thicker.

"A little help?" She asked. He turned around and grabbed her hand and pulled her up, getting them very close.

"Heh, heh…" Zatera laughed. He got out of the position as soon as possible along with Merle. They both pranced down to the bottom of the trees just in time to see the other group coming out from the brush. They all looked around and started to head inside.

~*~

"Where is she?" Van asked immediately.

"Who's there?" Said a weak voice from another room. Jin was about to reply, but he ran into the room before she could.

"Hitomi?"

"Van!"

~*~  
A/N: DONE! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I still don't know whether or not I should continue THANKIES! So could you tell me in your reviews? Thanks!

~*~

*-Look in chapter three for reference (Chapter 4 in chaptering system!)

**- Which boook did this come out of? Hehe.

***- A Zantaki word learn about it in later chapters!

   [1]: http://www.merlesroom.homestead.com/



	12. Misfortunes

__

Escaflowne ~ A Vision Reborn (11)

Misfortunes

By *~A White Rose Petal~*

A/N: Oh my…I never knew that it was possible for my series but it did! Before it showed up saying that I had my new chapter for Escaflowne ~ A Vision Reborn (10), I already got like six or seven reviews before it was re-shown on the first Escaflowne page…it makes me feel so warm inside…hehe THANKS!

~*~  
Summary:

Hitomi and Van meet (In a bedroom, but they meet! DON'T GET ANY IDEAS!), Tyler is introduced in the story as a fighter himself, like Jin. Zatera and Merle seem to be in their own little world and everybody sees it but them.

~*~  
Wanda finds a potion master…what is she planning to do?  
~*~

"I think I'm right." Jin said looking at Zatera who was loooking in his money pouch.

"Right at what?" Merle asked. She wanted to become friends with these guys and be on a good note with them. She was doing a pretty good job actually…

"Did Zat lose a bet to you again?" Tyler said dropping a package in front of Jin.

"Yes he did." Jin squealed. It was one of the few times she did it but she had a reason behind it too. Zat put the money on the table, two beuds*. Zatera just mumbled under his breath as Jin picked them up and put them into her own money pouch. 

"What was the bet of?" Tyler said, noticing that Jin seemed to want to get it out.

"That those two are 'close'. He thought that they were friends and I thought they were more." Zatera left to go itno his room for a moment. Allen at the moment was outside looking around, leaving Merle with the other three.

"Now that is VERY true." She said. She looked at the orange that was in the bowl. Tyler picked it up and threw it at her.

"Want it?"

"Thanks!" She took off the outer layer and started biting into it. Zatera came back in and put his hand in the bowl, finding nothing in it.

"Hey! Where's my orange?" He turned to see Merle biting out of it, but just stopped.

"He gave it to me." She said pointing at Tyler who was starting to kneel down by Jin. Jin was lying down on a cot. Her back needed tended to.

"I'll believe that…" Zatera said glaring at Tyler who sent him a smirk.

"I barely did anything!" Tyler squeaked up his voice again, causing a small laugh from Jin.

"Maybe but you still did!" 'There fighting this way over an orange…' Merle thought. Jin turned her head to see Merle looking back and forth at Tyler to Zatera who were glaring at each other. She grinned slightly.

"Got a question?" Merle looked over at her to see who she meant and saw Jin staring at her. She looked down embarrassed. She looked up again with rosy cheeks.

"Why are they fighting over an orange?" Zatera and Tyler looked shocked for a moment, and looked into the air in front of them trying to figure the answer out themselves, Jin however started laughing herself off the cot. Tyler, however, caught her before she could fall.

"Th-that is v-very tr-true…" Jin said laughing. Tyler and Zatera just glared at her more.

~*~

"Van?" Hitomi asked. She started to lift herself off the bed, but shook her head. She took her right hand over to her left shoulder and pinched it. "Ow!" She said.

"Hitomi, why did you do that?" Van said sitting on the other side of the bed.

"I wanted to see if it was-was a dream…" She said while blushing. This caused Van to get a grin on his face.

"Why would you be dreaming?" He asked. Hitomi looked up at him, blush gone with a question in her eyes. She smiled shyly.

"I-I missed you Van, and I was barely gone-gone a we-week…" She whispered lightly. Van had to strain to hear it. Hitomi flung herself onto Van's chest and hugged him as he did her. Hitomi felt a wave of drowsiness over take her and make her eyelids heavy. She unlocked Van from the death hug she was giving him and leaned into his chest. Her eyes, getting very heavy as she slowly fell asleep in his arms. She then did something that she would probably not remember the next morning.

"I love you, Van." She whispered as her sleep claimed her. Van just looked at her shocked. 'She-she probably di-didn't me-mean th-that…' His mind stuttered. He picked her up gently and put her into the bed. He looked at her as she looked like a portrait in the castle. In his mind, she was by far better than a portrait no problem. Van was about to leave the room when he heard Hitomi gasp. He turned around, wondering what was wrong he saw her turning in her bed, non-stop. 'She must be having a vision or a nightmare…' He thought. He walked over to her, he took his boots off for no reason that he could see, when he entered her room. His socks moving silently over to her bed he put his arm around her shoulder, an attempt to wake her up lightly. Hitomi's eyes snapped open as she jumped out of the bed. She turned her head to look at Van.

"V-Van…this is going to sound SO stupid." She said, she had tears in her eyes that were welling up.

"You can tell me Hitomi." He said. He didn't know whether it was him she was going to say something stupid about or anybody.

"I'm so tired Van…"

"Then you should get some rest."

"But every time I try a nightmare or vision come…"

"So what are you implying?"

"Can you stay near…to wake me up?" She asked. She sent her eyes downcast.

"Sure." He said and Hitomi smiled shyly up to him and he returned it.

"You can sit on the other side of the bed since there isn't a chair for you to sit on." Hitomi said pointing to the other side while lowering her head into the pillow. Van just shrugged and sat down Hitomi immediately fell asleep. When she started tossing and turning again, Van was immediately by her. As if by a force unseen, he started to feel drowsy himself.

~*~  
Jin grinned slightly after she put her hand down and smiled to herself.

~*~  
Van blinked, urging his eyes to stay open. He lightly fell into the bed. His eyes snapped open, now fully awake. He was about to get out of the bed when Hitomi backed into him, searching for his warmth. Van grinned slightly, enjoying what was going on. Hitomi oblivious to everything.

~*~

Wanda looked at the man who she had called for.

"You are the best in the land, are you not?" She asked him looking angry.

"Aye, my lady, I am." He answered, ignoring her angered look.

"Good, that is what I want…" She mused, and started thing to herself.

"What potion would you like me to do, my lady?" The man asked.

"Shut up! I will tell you when I'm ready…" She said she looked at her pen intently. She spent the last two days searching for just the right type of potion to use. She handed him the piece of parchment.

"Sir, can you do any of these?" She asked him. The man took the piece of paper and looked at it.

"Aye, I can do all of them except the bottom one for there is none, aye." He said to her. She looked at him with approval.

"Can you tell me the best to use? The strongest? The one that won't break?"

"Aye! No potion shan't have no way to break. All can break! But I must ask, who are you using it on my lady? Of his age?"

"Fifteen rotations."

"Aye, I have a spell then that won't break unless his true one has been found!" Wanda looked interested.

"But what if it was, what if his love was found?"

"Than it would work for a course of twelve hours and stop."

"Wonderful…start on it as soon as possible do you understand? The guard shall lead you to your chambers!"

"Aye, thank you my lady." He said. When the men left Wanda pulled a small picture of a man and girl out of the dwarae.

"I shall avenge you father." She whispered.

~*~  
A/N: DONE! Hehe! It's getting very interesting neh?

~*~  
*-Zantakian money, learn about it later.


	13. A Break

**__**

Escaflowne ~ A Vision Reborn (12)

A Break

By *~A White Rose Petal~*

A/N: Oh man…I have to go to the one Disney thing in Chicago so I won't be able to get the next couple of chapters out for a while and I'm putting this one out early! Be happy! Be very happy…hehe!

~*~  
Summary:

The potion master tells Wanda why the potion will work so well on Van…

~*~  
Merle and Zatera get closer…hehe Tyler gets Jin together and Jin goes into her room to see a chance of black mail…

~*~  
"You called for me again my lady?" The potion master asked.

"Quite, quite. I would like to know how fast this…potion…can be done."

"Aye, my lady, it will be done it one twelfth a rotation, your highness."

"A month!?"

"Aye, your highness."

"Why so long? I want it done sooner!"

"Your highness, allow me to explain!"

"Fine! Sit down there and talk." Wanda said pointing to the chair that he sat in before. He took it and looked at his hands. Wanda was looking out the window, waiting for him to speak. "Well?" She asked him, annoyed that he has not yet spoken.

"Your highness, some of the ingredients need to be mixed with the potion for a certain amount of time. Usually it takes half a rotation to finish the potion!"

"Half a rotation?" She asked starting to turn around.

"Aye, your highness, but I was able to find a way to quicken it up, I have!"

"Good, good…Why will it work so well?"

"What will work so well?" Wanda turned to look at the potion master, anger and annoyance in her eyes.

"The potion, damn it all, the potion!"

"Aye, the potion will work for the lad is young, he could not have found his love for he is so young!" Wanda looked at the man smiling.

"Yes…but if he has? It's slim I know…but if his love left? Never came back?"

"Then I expect that it will work as if he did not find his love for the love that binds them is what can break it."

"Thank you sir. You may go back to you corridors if you wish to do so."

"Aye, I shall. Thank you your highness." The potion master said as he shut the door behind him. Wanda watching him do it.

"Oh no, sir, thank you, I dare say. Thank you." As she started to laugh.

~*~  
"Zat, you might want to get out of here along with Merle." Tyler said.

"Why should I?"

"I'm serious Zat?"

"So, why should we get out?" Tyler started cracking his knuckles and Zatera immediately got the picture. "Ugh! You're going to do that when that guy could come in at any second? Yuck!" Merle thought he meant 'something' else but apparently he didn't.

When they were in his room she asked him.

"What is he going to do?"

"You don't wanna know…" Zatera said looking the other way with eyes shut tight. Merle heard an "ARG!" come from the other room.

"She sounds like she's in pain!"

"She probably is."

"How do you know that?"

"Tyler just put her bone back in place." It took a while for Merle to understand what Zatera meant and closed her eyes tight.

"Yuck!" Zatera just laughed.

~*~  
Jin started to climb out of the cot a few minutes after Tyler put her shoulder blade and one of the top rib bones back in place. Still a little sore she stood up and went over to her room. She bit her bottom lip and opened up the door silently. Her eyes filled up with ideas for blackmail…between friends of course. Van had his arm around Hitomi's waist and his other arm was under her head, acting as a pillow. Both of them were under the quilt. Jin grinned evilly. 'I HAVE to show Zat and Merle this…' She thought. She lightly left the room and into the kitchen where Zatera and Merle were in deep in conversation.

"I'd hate to take you to out of this…" She said to the two cat teens who looked up at her. "But have either of you ever heard of a picture moment?" Merle looked confused but Zatera jumped right out of his seat.

"Blackmail!" He said. Merle looked up to Jin.

"Wanna see?" Jin asked her. Merle shrugged as Jin led them to where Van and Hitomi were sleeping. When they neared Merle saw it first.  
"They look so…so…kawaii!" She said. She couldn't help herself. "These are moments that you wish you could keep still hehe." She giggled. Zatera was laughing lightly by her. Jin left and they followed her.

"I wonder what's going to happen when they wake up…" Zat wondered. Merle laughed lightly by him.

"Hey Zat!" Jin said coming to him with an empty brown cloth bag. "We haven't got any food. Go to town and get some, k?" She asked him. She threw the bag at him not waiting for an answer. Zatera mumbled under his breath but put the sack over his shoulder.

"Wanna come?" He asked Merle. She looked at him with a question on her face but she shook her head no.

"I don't think it's a very good idea that I do. People know that I'm a companion of Van's." She said looking kind of sad.

"Hey! What if we got something to cover you up with?"

"I suppose…what do you have?" She asked.

"HEY JIN! CAN MERLE USE SOME OF YOUR OLD CLOAKS YOU WORE FOR HIDING AT THE ONE THINGS?"  
"YEAH, I SUPPOSE, WHY?"

"SHE'S GOING WITH ME!"

"KAY!"  
"She said you can use some of her cloaks."

"I heard."

~*~  
Zatera led Merle into the room that was between his and Jin 's. He went over to a trunk and started picking clothes out of it.

"She only has two cloaks that are to small for her, but they might fit you!" He said. He put a blue one up to her.

"It doesn't look to good on you…but…what do you think?" He asked. Merle went over to the long mirror and held the dress up in front of her. The cloak looked so…nice! It was light green with a dark green color hems, it even had emerald like beads around the neck area. Now if only she looked good in it. She shook her head no.

"I thought so." He said. He dived back into the trunk and finally came to the very bottom of it. "Ah hah!" He said as he picked it up. "I think you'll look better in this, what do you think?" Zatera asked. Merle put it up in front of her and smiled at her reflection. The cloak was a light peach color, with a darker peach hems. She shook her head yes.

"I'll wear this one!" She put it over her head and over her clothes. When her head poked through the top, both saw that it was just a wee bit bigger than her but just barely. Nobody would barely notice it. Zatera handed her a golden like rope.

"It's a rope or sash, whatever you want to call it." He said. Merle tied it around her hips. She smiled and put the hood over her head.

"Let's go!" She said, and they were out the door."

~*~  
"Oh my…I didn't see as much when I came here with Van and Allen…" Merle whispered to Zatera. "And- why are we going behind that building?" Merle asked as Zatera pulled her behind a bakery.

"For cover." He whispered back.

"From wh-"

"ZATTY? Where are you?" Katy yelled into the dead end street that was also the back of the shop. Merle could barely hold in her laughter.

"Zatty?" She whispered to him. He scowled.

"Shut up!" He whispered back to her. 

"ZATTY, STOP HIDING!" Katy yelled, again into the street. Merle stopped giggling.

"What does she want from you?" Merle whispered to him.

"A date!" Merle giggled again, she couldn't stop herself.

"Why don't you just give her one?"

"'Cuz I don't want one!"

"I suppose that's a reason…"

"A very good one!…hide!" He said. He pushed Merle behind one of the crates as Katy walked over and saw him.

"Knew you couldn't hide forever Zat." Katy said smiling sweetly. Zatera rolled his eyes.

"Do you mind? I just ate!" Merle giggled but Katy didn't hear it.

"Zatera! You need to learn your manners! You're not acting as you should when a lady is around!" Zatera looked like he was being shot and fell to the ground. He stuck his tongue out and made his head go sideways to give him that country dead look. "Zatera! All I want is a date! Why won't you give it to me?" Zatera was about to speak up when a metal cage fell off of the crate.

"Shit." Merle and Zatera cursed together.

"Who's there? Show yourself!" Merle groaned but got out of her crouch. She went behind Zatera who was looking at her. "Who are you?" Katy didn't give Merle any time to reply. She slapped her hard across the face. "That's for spying on us! You shouldn't spy, it's not what ladies do! Do you know nothing on how to be one? You should be happy that I'm not sending you to the police!" She practically yelled. A few tears escaped Merle's eyes. She looked up to Katy with anger in her eyes. Katy backed up a bit.

"Have I seen you before?" She asked. She watched Zatera go over and touch lightly where she slapped her. "Zatera, why are you helping her?"

"Because she needs it, not to much from what I can see though."

"You should be helping me teach her how to be a lady!"

"I know who she is Katy."

"Oh really and who is she?"

"Somebody you aren't going to see again!" He yelled at her. He pointed to the sky and Merle started jumping on the crates to get over the wall. Zatera picked up his bag and followed her.

"Be careful what you do Katy." He whispered to her acidly, just enough for her to hear though, "You sometimes may get what you want but not the way you want it." He jumped over the wall, following Merle into the forest.

~*~  
A/N: UGH! I now officially truly hate Katy (my character!). I only wanted her to be somebody annoying in the beginning but now…I transformed her…Did I write fluff for those two or did I write fluff? Hehe. Please Review!

[/Merle's Room/][1] ß my site, check it out please!

   [1]: http://www.merlesroom.homestead.com/



	14. The Past Lives

**__**

Escaflowne ~ A Vision Reborn (13)

The Past Lives

By *~A White Rose Petal~*

THANKS to Jus1digigirl_, I never got a dedication before!_

A/N: Looks like my mom had the wrong day we were leaving for Disney Quest…looks like we're actually leaving tomorrow morning and come back later that night if we can…

~*~  
Summary:

Van and Hitomi **cough** wake up…heh heh -- Van thinks they have to go back, should they take Hitomi with? Jin and Zatera?

~*~

Merle and Zatera return from their little 'quest' to the super market…fuming…toushe…I'll stop the dots now ---

~*~

Wanda waits for the potion to finish…a dark cloud looms over the city of Zantaki… That's where this chapter starts…

~*~  
Katy looked at the sky. Something wasn't right, she could feel it in her bones. Katy felt an urge to eat some strawberries. A food she hated.

"A storm must be moving in…" Referring to her hunger. All cat people have odd behaviors that help them tell when something like a storm is coming. Katy shook her head as the gray clouds came closer to the city, looking at how fast they were coming how far away they were, she guessed the storm was about a month away. "We're going to be getting a good storm here." She thought, thinking how strange it was for one to be coming in now.

~*~

__

"We need to leave now!" A man said.

"But only she can do the spell, and if she does it we have to leave her…alone!" The woman cried into her husband's shirt.

"Sh, sh, do you think she wants you to worry over her?"

"I know she doesn't! But she's only four years old!"

"She said herself that-that…" The man started to say. His wife looked at him intently.

"She said what? What did she say?" She demanded.

"You heard her de-"

"I did not hear her! That was a girl who didn't know what she was talk-"

"She proved herself that she can withstand the power of the other g-"

"I know that, damn it! You don't have to tell me!" The woman snapped. Her husband put his eyes downcast.

"Maybe she does know what she's talking about." He whispered. The woman just stared at him blankly.

"How can you say that?" She said, sending daggers at him through her eyes. "She's your daughter_!"_

"And I know that! But did you ever think that she's doing this to prove herself!?" The man yelled. The woman quieted down immediately. He had tears in his eyes like she did. "I'm sorry, hon, but do you think I want this to happen any more or less than what you do? I know very well that's she's my daughter, which is the problem. She's wanted dead by that-that witch!" He said. "and she's only eight years old and her power can kill!" He quieted down again, "If we don't give her this chance to prove herself, what can we do with her? Her sister?" He asked. The woman looked very fragile right there, like she would break the moment you touched her, mentally, vocally, and physically.

"Not one of them would live…" Her voice trailed off.

"Exactly, and if she wants to do anything, it would be to save us!" He said.

~*~

Jin's eyes opened with a start. She found herself on a tree branch, she recognized it, luckily. It was one that was close to the cabin. She comes over this one to think to herself a lot. She looked at her hands.

"And what was that?" She thought, referring to the vision.

~*~  
Hitomi woke up feeling something very warm at the back of her. She backed into it, liking the feeling. She put her hands under her head, planning to go back to sleep, when she noticed there was also an arm up there. Her eyes widened. She looked down to her waist where she felt a small weight on there. Sure enough, another tanned arm was lying on it. Her eyes grew wider realizing she was in no position to leave from the grip the arm had on her waist. She slowly turned her head (turning left onto her pillow) and a little more just to see Van there, sleeping with a small smirk on his face. She turned her head back and carefully put her arms around the one that was on her waist. She was trying to move it so he wouldn't wake up, though he did anyway.

"Huh? Wha? Hitomi?!" He started. He saw Hitomi go into a shade of pink. He also noticed then that he trapped her by his arm over her waist.

"Um…can I get up now Van?" She asked. Van just looked at her and grinned.

"Why should? I don't know about you, but I'm rather comfy just the way I am!" He said. The smirk that was on his face earlier while he was sleeping grew a little. Hitomi tried wiggling out of his grasp, he only held onto her tighter.

"Van, please?" She asked. Looking up at him with hopeful eyes.

"Um…no."  
"Van!" 

"What?"

"Why not?"

"I'm king."

"Oh geesh…" She said. She mumbled, "corny comeback." As she laid her head onto her pillow, waiting for Van to get up. Hitomi than got a reason to get out, 'Maybe he'll listen to it…' She thought, and grinned inwardly. "Van, I need to take a bath!"

"Can I join?"

"VAN!"

"Ok, Ok, sorry." He said grinning. He lifted up his arm and let Hitomi out of the bed. She mumbled out of the room, going to find Jin and ask her where she could take a bath.

~*~  
Jin entered the few feet of land that they called a yard. It was the only true open area around the cabin. Allen challenged her to a fight, no killing of course. Jin agreed, saying it will help her shoulder and rib get back into business faster. Allen went to practice, as Jin went to the branch, though now she was back near the cabin as Hitomi came out of it.

"Hitomi! What's wrong?" She asked as Hitomi came out of the cabin mumbling under her breath, blushing at the words remembering what was 'wrong'.

"Nothing much, Jin?"

"Yup?"

"Where can I take a bath?"

"There's a stream not to far from here…how bout that?"

"Great! I need something to wear when I get out -- no leather please!" She said. She remembered how often Jin wore leather. At the moment it was only a white shirt and a pair of blue jean like shorts. 'Must be a Gaea cloth.' She thought, have not ever seeing it before on earth. Jin laughed.

"Nah, how bout something like this though?" She said pointing towards what she was wearing.

"I'm fine with that."

"Kay, just a sec." Jin ran into the house leaving Hitomi outside alone. For the first time in three days, she really noticed that she stunk. Hitomi was now wondering how Van could stand her. She must have smelt this way all night! She hadn't taken a bath since the night of the party! 'The party…' She thought, 'The party where my parents died.' She thought.

~*~  
"I can't believe she did that!" Zatera said for the hundredth time it seemed. Merle, for some reason, thought that what he was doing was sweet. 'Wait!' She thought, 'did I just think that what he was doing was sweet? I've barely known him for three hours! Not even a day or introduction from a friend!' Merle thought. 

"It's ok Zatera, I'm a big girl!" Merle joked. Merle did have to admit though, Katy had a good back hand. Merle, however, would know whether if she had a good back hand or not if had been that she didn't like scaring people who she didn't like with her claws. They were much more useful. Zatera smiled up at her.

"I 'spose." He said. There was a silent moment for no real reason, "We should go." He said. Merle nodded her head.

~*~  
Hitomi was in the water. 'Freezing, Freezing, Freezing…' Went through her head as she slowly lowered into it. Hitomi started to get used to the cold and dived her head under. Now completely wet, she started rubbing some odd looking white flowers on her skin. Jin said that it was like free soap, better though, than you can find in stores. Hitomi started to swim around a little bit when she heard hoof beats behind her. 'huh?' She thought. She turned around and gasped.

"The unicorn…" She whispered. She blinked her eyes, it was still there. She blinked her eyes again, it was gone. "Huh?" She though aloud as she started to climb out of the stream.

~*~

Allen and Jin walked in. Both in pretty good moods.

"You finished your duel like thing?" Tyler asked, looking up from his hands that were on the table.

"Yeah." Jin relied. She put her arms around his neck. She noticed that he tensed up when she touched him. "What's wrong?" She asked.

"Nothing." He said shrugging. She herself shrugged and left the room. Everybody later came in.

"I have never seen the house this full…" Zatera stated, he and Merle came back from the forest a few minutes ago. Jin just nodded her head in agreement. She handed everybody some fruit.

"The meat's still coming…I'm warning you though, you might not want to finish the fruit yet." She said. Everybody but Zatera looked at her question-ly. A chorus of "huh?" 's could be heard.  
"You let Tyler cook didn't you?" He asked. Jin shrugged.

"I didn't feel like some sweet meat."

"'Sweet meat'?" Hitomi asked. Jin grinned at her.

"It has seasoning on it, but only the light stuff." She told her, "Tyler puts almost EVERY spice on…it tastes pretty good-"

"If it gets down your throat and the tastes dies down!" Zatera said.  
"I heard that!" Tyler yelled from outside one of the other doors. He was in the 'yard' cooking over the fire (ß a real bbq).

"Where'd you get the meat?" She asked. Inside, however, she had a feeling of doubt about where they got it. Jin grinned.

"Zat goes to town for our food." She said Hitomi blushed from embarrassment. Nobody truly noticed it.

~*~

Everybody was dodging around the small cabin wherever they could find some room to sit. Van and Hitomi were back in Jin's room.

"Hitomi?" Van asked carefully. His eyes downcast. Hitomi looked at him with worry.

"Van?" She asked, "What's wrong?" Van looked at her and licked his lips lightly. Hitomi saw him do this before when he was nervous. "Well?" She asked again, waiting for his answer. He seemed to be stalling.

"Well…" He said carefully.

"Van, hurry up! I wanna go to sleep!" She said. Van looked downcast again and she felt sorry for being stern. She really wanted to go to sleep though. "Van, please? I really want to go to bed!" She said again, in a way.

"Hitomi, I came here for a reason. I told Lady Wanda-"

"Wanda?" Hitomi asked, looking up to the ceiling. 'That name sounds familiar…' She thought. Van noticed this and looked at her carefully.

"Hitomi! What's wrong?"

"Her name sounds familiar…something more than a vision or a dream or a nightmare…" She thought. Van looked at her strangely.

"Huh? There seems to be only one more word to go in that little 'category' you're making Hitomi." He said. Hitomi looked at him, wondering what he meant.

"Huh? What do you mean?" She asked.

"The last one that can go in there, is well…a memory."

~*~

Hitomi thought about what Van said as she laid her head on the pillow for another nights rest. She let her eyes close, stopping all thoughts from entering her mind as she fell into a dreamless sleep. A visionless one too.

~*~

"Just two weeks…" Wanda whispered looking out of the window in her office. "Just two weeks for it to finish, and for Van to be mine…" She said. 'I got them out of the castle for my father to rule! She then had the little bitch! Making her next in line instead of daddy. Then another one!' Wanda thought, 'and daddy died before I was crowned queen…' She thought. "Be happy for me daddy," She whispered acidly, "be happy for me…" She brought her dark red nails to the window and tapped it. Ting. Ting. 'Two,' She thought, 'Two are still alive.'

~*~  
"We need to go back to the castle…" Allen said, looking at Van more than Merle. Practically daring him to say no with his eyes.

"But-"  
"We were to go and walk in the woods that don't 'kill'!" Allen said. "That group didn't know that we were following." Van sighed, knowing that Van had a very good point at the moment, whether he wanted it that way or not.

"Fine." He said. Jin overheard this as she walked inside the cabin.

"It is probably best that you leave soon." She agreed. She sounded quite normal.

"I wonder if Zatera can go…" Merle wondered aloud. Jin looked at her, eyebrow cocked.

"I wouldn't mind if he went…it'd give me a break." Jin said sitting down.

"What about me?" Zatera said.

"Hey Zat, wanna go to the castle?" Jin asked, Zat looked at her with a weird face.

"Wh-" Allen interrupted him.

"How many people are coming back with us?" He asked. He thought that things were getting out of hand, which in a way, they were.

"Wait…you want me to go to the castle?" Zatera asked Jin.

"Actually it was Merle who asked," Merle blushed, "But I wouldn't mind you leaving for a day or two, it would give me a break!" Jin joked. Zatera pounced on her, both only joking but not laughing during it.

"Hey! Can I join?" Tyler asked when he walked into the scene. Zatera and Jin glared at him while he smirked. Merle looked over to Van, begging with her eyes asking if Zatera could come.

"You know I'll only go to those things if you do Jin!" He told her. He hated going to those special events in the city, Jin however, loved it. It brought things back that she wonted to rejoice. 'I wonder what it is…' He thought as Jin sighed.

"I'll go if they agree."

"I'm going with Jin." Tyler said before anyone could speak.

"I see no problem with it…"

"However, I am going to act. There is no way I'm going in there as the woman phantom, I might not blend in well if I do." This caused Tyler to laugh, Jin shot daggers at him again and he shut up.

"Then it's agreed." Van said. "We shall all go to the castle tomorrow morning." Everybody in the cabin nodded. Jin left the room quickly as tears came to her eyes.

"They watched me, but I didn't watch them." She whispered. Touching something on her neck gingerly.

~*~  
A/N: What could Jin be talking about? Van was a pervert for a while in this one! Hehe. Allen has a larger part in this one! At least more than the last one… They're all going to the castle! What havoc can happen now? What's up with the storm? Why is it approaching so oddly? R/R if you want more! I checked this hits/review thing and around 900 people SAW my fic but didn't REVIEW it…can you believe it? If you are one of these people, I'm asking you now. REVIEW FOR MY SAKE PLEASE!!! I WANT REVIEWS!!!! Hehe, sorry, I chugged a pepsi down in less than thirty seconds hehe. See ya!  
*~A White Rose Petal~*

p.s.

I hope this fic is long enough for me to have a small absence…maybe two or three days…

[/Merle's Room/][1]

   [1]: http://merlesroom.homestead.com/



	15. Iris

**__**

Escaflowne ~ A Vision Reborn (14)

Iris

By *~A White Rose Petal~*

A/N: I'm back from Disney Quest! It was really cool! _Okay…I think it was Silent Dreamer or something that said Hitomi's vision was to long…if you remember the part after you would have known that it was Jin who had the vision, not Hitomi, here's the part now - _

Jin's eyes opened with a start. She found herself on a tree branch, she recognized it, luckily. It was one that was close to the cabin. She comes over this one to think to herself a lot. She looked at her hands.

"And what was that?" She thought, referring to the vision.__

IMPORTANT!!! Iris means the same as Hitomi, only in English from what my dad is telling me (You got it right, dad?)! Kay? So in a way, this chapter is called Hitomi, but not hehe confusing? Thought so.

~*~  
Summary:  
They group heads towards the castle, when they get there…Wanda seems jealous of Hitomi…

~*~

"You!" Wanda yelled at a nearby boy. He looked over to her, scared.

"Y-Yes your-your highness?" the boy stuttered. Wanda made him walk over by pointing in front of her. He bowed quickly and stood back up. "What may your wishes be…your highness?" He asked. Wanda tapped her nails on the arm rest of the chair.

"I would like you to fetch the potion master," She said. She stood up from her chair and went behind the chair. When she came back she was holding two bags. "For excepting, you get one bag of gold," She said, "and getting him here, another." The boy looked at the bags and grinned.

"Aye, I shall do it." He said and raced out of the room. Wanda sat back in her chair, expecting Van's return but not company.

~*~

"What are we going to call you?" Allen asked Jin.

"Well, you can call me Jin in there, but not Juearo Hateto." She said. She was jumping from branch to branch. It was getting harder to do now that they were getting closer to the castle and there wasn't as much thickness in it as before. Tyler was walking on the ground, smirking up at her, she didn't notice till he asked told her something.

"Hey Jin?"

"What?" She asked annoyed, he asked her that in mid-jump.

"You really aren't supposed to do that as we get closer to the castle! Somebody might see you…" He said, "and I already have." He laughed Jin jumped off the tree branch and jumped on them, both now rolling on the forest floor. Zatera looked at it in interest.

"Win Jin, win!" He said, "Hey! It rhymes." Jin had her hands on Tyler's throat, and he the same with her. Tyler let go of it so she could start tackling Zatera. She stopped the fight quicker then with Tyler.

"Why'd you do that?" Tyler asked, a pinch of disappoint in his voice.

"We can't have them see me now can we?" She asked him.

'We're taking them to the castle?' Allen wondered, shaking his head. 'I feel very sorry for myself right now." He thought.

~*~

"Your highness!" A messenger yelled through the halls. She was, at the moment, having her nails done, toes and fingers. Her fingers now being done as she started examining them as the young woman who was doing them bent down to her toes.

"What?" She asked annoyed.

"Lord Van and his companions have returned with…" He paused for a moment, thinking of what he should call Jin, Zatera, and Tyler.

"He has returned!" She said giddy. She looked down at the girl. "Get away from me peasant, and hand me my shoes before you leave." She said. The girl looked up at her with terror in her eyes. She reached over to the table that was barely an inch away from the throne. She handed Wanda the shoes. "Why are you returning them to me?! Put them on my feet!" She said, putting her feet out. The girl quickly did it and left without a word. It was then that Wanda remembered that the messenger had paused after with. "With what?" She asked. The messenger looked at her and then to the ceiling.

"…with guests of their own…" He said. Wanda looked at him, confused.

"And who may these guests be?" She asked. The messenger bit his lip. Nervous.

"They have two teenage girls, a teenage boy, and a teen boy cat." He said, hoping this was an ok answer.

"Where did they meet?"

"I do not know your highness." Wanda huffed up.

"You are supposed to be a messenger!" She practically yelled at him. The others heard it however, for they were right outside the door. Wanda sighed for her servant's 'carelessness'. 'Must I do everything?' She thought. "If you don't know where they met, than do you know where they are now?" She said calmly, but coldly. The messenger shivered.

"They-They are right outside the-the door your-your majesty…" He said backing up a bit. Wanda stared at him with large eyes.

"Out-Outside the door at-at this moment?!" She stuttered. She took in a breath to calm her and sat correctly in her throne. She turned to the messenger and lightly nodded her head. "You may lead them in, and then be off." The messenger bowed deeply to her and opened up the thick wooden doors. Merle and Zatera were the ones to here the queen yelling through the doors and they told the others. All of them, however, walked in as if they didn't know or hear a thing.

All of them walked in Merle curtsying because she was the only one at the moment who could. Hitomi lowered herself a little bit and lowered her head as Jin just nodded (ß both girls were wearing shorts). Van, Allen, Zatera and Tyler all just nodded theirs heads. Wanda felt a pang in her stomach. She looked over to Jin. She didn't know why, but she hated her already. It was almost as if Jin knew what Wanda was feeling, for she felt the same feeling towards her. Only she knew why.

"Guards! Get these new guest rooms immediately, unless you feel as though you would be leaving soon…" Wanda said tapping her fingers on the arm rest, showing off her nails but not knowing it. She didn't really like Hitomi either. She felt her anger rising up in her when she saw how close the girl was standing next to Van… 'What does she think she's doing?!' She wondered.

"We shall stay a few nights and then leave. We are needed elsewhere at times, so we may leave semi-often. Depending on when we must go." Jin answered before Zatera could. He looked up to her, small hints of questions in his eyes. She ignored it however.

"Why, may I ask, that you must leave at so many times?" Wanda asked. Tyler kept his mouth shut as Zatera got a solid look on his face.

"We have family where we come from, Lord Van was kind enough to invite us as his companions here so I may got herbs to help heal their wounds." Jin said. She looked up at Wanda without a trace of fear on her face. Wanda didn't like that. People who come to meet her are always scarred with lines on their faces from fear or nervousness. She dismissed the thought for a few minutes as she answered, though she was against the idea of it all. 

"Alright then. We will give you rooms until you must leave, and then we shall also see you off the castle grounds till you enter…er…where did you come from?"

"A low part of the Fanailian forest, safest part there. We traveled here on foot looking for the herbs as not to miss any." Jin said. Zatera and Tyler were leaving the talking up to her. She apparently got that as she kept on talking easily.

"So Fanailian residents?"

"It is actually outside of the Fanailian borders, or any other parts of Gaea, but yes, when it comes to locating us, we are Fanailians." Jin said. Wanda shook her head at this answer and turned to the guards who were waiting by the doors for her orders.

"What are your names?" She asked. That was when Tyler spoke up.

"I am Tyler. The cat boy is Zatera, and the blond girl is Jin." He said.

"The other girl?" She asked. Tyler stayed quiet for a moment, not knowing what Jin wanted. She spoke up instead.

"Her name in Iris." She said in a monotone voice. 'Why would they need to hide my actual name?' Hitomi wondered. 'Unless they don't want Wanda to know who I am…' Wanda lightly bowed her head. She motioned her fingers to the doors.

"You may show them to their rooms. Would any of you like-"

"No!" Van, Allen, and Merle said together. 'I don't need to be escorted to my room!' Merle thought as she left the room and raced out of the door. Van and Allen following suit.

~*~

Hitomi opened up the door to her room. It didn't look as nice as the one as she had gotten on Fanailia. She slowly shut the door behind her. She cringed at the color of room she got. It was yellow everywhere!. It wasn't that she didn't like the color yellow, but when you use to many shades of it, it doesn't look to good. 'This place needs to get remodeled…' She thought. She shook her head at the thought.

There was a dresser on one side of the room with a thin mirror behind the desk. 'That mirror doesn't even belong there!' She thought. There was a small desk, about a couple of inches smaller than the bed, which was quite short itself. 'If I can get to sleep, I will be happy!' She thought sarcastically. She felt warm arms go around her waist. She turned her head back and grinned up at Van who was grinning down on her. Hitomi groaned after figuring out that Van was planning on letting her go for a while.

"You're room looks awful!" Van said. He usually doesn't make comments about that stuff but, hey, this was Hitomi. He had to say something. Hitomi looked up at him. He knew that she was ready to get sarcastic. ANYTHING could happen.

"Really Van? I didn't notice…I thought the color suits me! Ugh!" Hitomi said. She started to try and get past Van's arms and he let her go.

"Wanna go for a tour? We'll have to take Merle though…or Jin or somebody…"

"Why would you need to take anybody?" Hitomi asked confused. Van looked at her, she thought for a moment that he looked scared. He sighed.

"_Wanda _wouldn't want that." He said. Hitomi just looked more confused. Van was sort of afraid of that. "I still have a lot to explain to you." He said.

~*~

"You called, yet again, your majesty?" Asked the potion master bowing. He was quite annoyed for her never letting him finish his work.

"How much longer?!" She demanded.

"Well, your highness, if you give me more time to work for the next week, no interruptions, than it shall be done as planned. Seven days."  


"Fine! Blame the one who is paying you!" She snapped. The potion master seemed a little fazed a little. She looked at her nails, which was becoming a habit and admired them. "You know sir, I am paying you quite a bit of money for this small potion. My nails are worth more than ten of your heads and yet I'm paying you more money than what I do on them…" She said it quietly but he could still hear it as it sliced through the air in it's own way. He stayed in his bowing position though. "You may go." She said. He got up as quickly left the room as fast as his legs would allow.

~*~  
A/N: OK short but I wanted to get a part out. A lot has happened in this chapter!!! I've got to go now…it's 2:21 o'clock! See ya!

*~A White Rose Petal~*


	16. A Small Room

**__**

Escaflowne ~ A Vision Reborn (15)

A Small Room

*~A White Rose Petal~*

A/N: OK…time for the next chapter apparently…

To Innocent Dreamer - OK, There's a first time for everything right Innocent? I suppose that I just needed to get all of the parts out at one time…

~*~

Summary:

Jin seems to know her way around the castle pretty well and Zatera knows why (ß go to chapter 3 for more info, chapter 4 in ch. System). She agrees to go on a walk with Hitomi and Van but stay AWAY from them but close enough to keep Wanda satisfied.

~*~

Tyler and Zatera fight, what else is new?

~*~

Allen finds a hidden room…

~*~

STORY:

"Please Jin!" Hitomi pleaded. Jin rolled her eyes. Hitomi was on her knees at the moment hands clasped together in a begging form. Van however was mimicking her by bending his knees a little bit and had a very stressed face on. It would look a little more convincing if his eyes weren't laughing and he was actually saying words instead of mouthing Hitomi's. Jin groaned.

"Fine!" She said, "I give up! I'll go!" Hitomi grinned and stood up. She stopped by Van and whacked his arm, catching him off guard.

"Ow! Geesh what was that for?"

"For copying me!" She laughed. She left the room and Van stared at Jin who smiled up at him sweetly.

"Women's intuition." She said though he didn't even ask a question.

~*~

Hitomi and Van immediately forgot that Jin was in behind them and were in their own little world in no time. Jin looked around the hall and at the paintings that Wanda hung up. She cringed. 'What did Wanda do this place?' she wondered. Wall after wall were pictures of starving children on the streets, or a scene for when somebody is ordered to be beheaded. But there was at least one picture on each wall that Jin had to get raging mad at Wanda at. It was a picture of Wanda herself. Jin walked across one of the pictures and started laughing and crying at the same time. The tears were not from how hard she was laughing. They were real tears, because she knew now that only this picture or another one like it was a fake picture. The one where she cried was a picture of Wanda bending down and handing a boy some money, and the boy looked so sweet. He had some brown hair and the brightest blue eyes anywhere from the mystic blue moon to Gaea that you've ever seen. His rosy cheeks added to how cute he was. But there was one problem in the picture that Jin noticed. The boy was clean. To clean for somebody who was poor, and his awful 'peasant' clothes were all clean, as if they were put in bleach. Hitomi and Van had already turned the corner but Jin dismissed it. This picture was just to stupid to be up there. 'Wanda, the sweetest queen on Gaea!' She thought sarcastically. It was then that Jin felt another presence in the hall other than her. She looked behind her to see no other than Wanda staring at her.

"What are you doing here?" She said with a monotone voice. Her voice sounded all crack-ly, as if you could put a finger into the air and feel the cracks. Jin tore her eyes from the portrait and stared at Wanda with hatred.

"I was looking at the paintings." She said. Wanda looked at her as if she was sizing her up.

"Why?"

"True art takes time to look at," 'and fifteen minutes to find hatred with the lies!' Jin looked at Wanda evenly. Her eyes looked like they did at the last fight she fought. Bored. Wanda nodded her head at this answer.

"I agree. Do you know what I am doing in this picture?" She asked, but she didn't wait for a reply. "I'm giving some of the money that I earned to that poor child. Do you know how well you can rule a kingdom if you know how to take care of your subjects?" She said. Awaiting an answer this time.

"I figured the better you know your subjects, the better you can help them." She shrugged. Hoping this was a good enough answer for Wanda. Wanda looked at her with her head lowered, she stared at Jin, her eyes narrowed.

"Hmm, you seem to know quite a bit of the royal court…may I ask how." Jin scoured her mind for an answer. For some reason, she already knew that Tyler had come up with an excuse but didn't tell it to her yet. Something strange she picked up as she got to know him more as a friend, than just another fighter for her to beat. Or maybe it was because she caught Tyler at the opposite end of the hall arguing with Zatera who were both making very weird symbols with their hands what she is supposed to do. She did her all to well known shrug and looked at Wanda with both eyes on her.

"I picked it up." She said evenly. Wanda cocked an eyebrow, and Tyler and Zatera seemed relieved.

"May I ask where you picked it up from?" She asked. Her back was to Tyler and Zatera, Jin knew that she couldn't hear them nor see them. Jin just shrugged.

"I just picked it up, why should you care where I picked it up from?" She said. She let her eyes travel down to where Zatera and Tyler were. Both of them were giving her a thumbs up sign, and taking their hands up and rubbing up the sweat that was never there.

~*~  
"Oh geesh Van! I-" Hitomi began. She looked behind her only to see that there was no one there. She looked over to Van. "Do you know where Jin went?" She asked him. Van just looked over to her than where Jin was supposed to be.

"Dunno…well…if she gets lost Zatera, from what I have seen, will be able to smell her out." Hitomi rolled her eyes and shook her head sadly.

"What's depressing is that that is true…" She said, laughing at it a little bit. Suddenly they heard paws behind them (or in front of them, they were still facing where Jin was supposed to be). They turned sharply only to see Merle behind them.

"Oh-Merle! Don't do that!" Hitomi gasped. Merle stuck her tongue out at her, and then turned to Van.

"You're 'needed' to be seen by 'Lady' Wanda Van." She said. Van groaned.

"Why does she want to?"

"From what I can see, she wants to grasp the ideas of Fanailia and Zantakian forces together…at least that's what I can see…" She said, starting to send her eyes downcast, thinking. Van groaned.

"Why do I have to?" He said closing his eyes and leaning onto Hitomi. Hitomi fake gagged.

"Because you're 'the king'!" She stated, remembering back in the cabin. Merle shook her head at the two of them. 'What am I going to do with those two?' She wondered.

~*~

Allen looked around at the paintings on the wall. He came across a door that looked like it hadn't been used for some time, maybe it hasn't even been used for years, from it's looks! It was almost entirely covered with wallpaper. His brow creased up in confusion. 'Why would they hide a door…' He thought. Usually, being a gentleman, he would ignore this and make no comments about this later. His curiosity, however, got the better of him. He went over to where a new part of the wallpaper began and carefully pulled away at it. It was quite hard, pointing to the point where he wanted to keep it looking just the way that it was at that moment. He walked over, behind the wallpaper and inside of the room. He looked around, noting nothing out of the ordinary; except when he turned around he heard somebody cough.

The cough seemed distant, like it was in another room. He looked all over the small room but not finding anything that could lead to another. He heard some sniffling and walked over to where it came from. He found a small vent that was up to his chin. He shook his head. Nothing to interesting here…just some other guest room that connects with this room. 

"…then add some of this…" The voice said lightly as if he wanted to keep it to himself, which he did. Allen bent down a little and looked into the vent.

"Oh my…" He gasped. Inside, it was a dark room and the potion master was hard at work.

"A little while longer…" The potion master said, "and the queen shall have her king…and I my award he said. Allen looked confused. 'What was this man doing? The queen getting her king? What is that supposed to mean?' Allen turned around and left the room, thinking to himself.

~*~

"You're not doing it right Merle!" Zatera said. He pounced over to her on all fours and stood behind her. He put his hands on her wrists and adjusted them so that they were just a little farther apart. Merle looked at him confused.

"My hands were barely that far apart! Why did you do that?" She asked. Zatera himself didn't know why he did that, just that he did. He shrugged, coming up with a reason.

"You're arms need to be as exact as possible in front of you." He said. Merle would have shrugged but she was worried that she might get her hands out of place. She then pounced forward and did a cartwheel while turning in the air. Zatera ran over to her, noticing that she was going to fall at the end of it. "Woah!" He said while catching her. Merle gasped.

"Thanks." She said. They stayed that way for a moment until Merle crawled out of his arms and looked the other way in the room, to hide her blush.

~*~

Jin looked at the room she was in right now, Wanda's office. She invited her in here for some tea and was gone at the moment. Jin allowed herself to look on the other side of the desk to inspect it. She opened up the doors, knowing that she was going into somebody else's privacy. 'She took away the only people who should have lived here all their lives. The queen, the daughter to the queen and her husband…' tears started coming to her eyes. 'and the princesses…' she thought. She brought her eyes up, tears on the brim. Her eyes were on fire. 'But the princesses are still alive…now to bring them back…' She thought. She closed all the doors she opened and sat back in her chair, waiting for Wanda to return.

~*~

A/N: Watch out for Jin! We got a little but of BG here…Allen got his own little part in this one…I'm trying to get his parts bigger and bigger as I go along…that's about it…see ya!

*~A White Rose Petal~*


	17. Past Tears

**__**

Escaflowne ~ A Vision Reborn(16)

Past Tears

By *~A White Rose Petal~*

A/N: 'ello all of you peoples out there! How are you today? Let me tell you something about my self k? I AM IN A BAD MOOD! THIS STORY IS GOING TO REFLECT IT GOT THAT?! I FOUND OUT THAT I AM GETTING BRACES THAT YOU CAN SEE AND GUESS WHAT! I DON'T WANT THEM! Thank you for your time and being positive readers by ignoring that ::cheesy grin, making sure you can see all of the teeth before the braces get put on them…::!

~*~

Summary:

Wanda shoos Jin out of the room after some tea (a few sips) so that she and Van can 'talk' about what they want to do with Fanailia and Zantaki…(ß Yeah right.)

~*~

Allen talks to Tyler about what he saw…

~*~

Jin sipped her tea slowly, buying her time to look around the office. Wanda seemed to be doing the same thing, but at the same time faster. Wanda put her tea down and stood up abruptly.

"Leave now, that you had the joy of being in my presence!" She said. Jin's eyes bulged. 'What does 'the joy' part mean?!' She thought. Wanda walked over to the door and opened it. She put her hand into a sweeping motion to get Jin out of the room.

"Go! Now!" She said. "I have more important things to do!" She said. Jin looked over at her crossly but didn't say a word. When Jin was a few steps away from the door, Wanda pushed her out of it.

"Leave! Now, you little bit-Oh my! Did you get hurt?" Wanda said. Jin lightly collided into the wall to see her reaction, she was shocked when Wanda asked if she was hurt until she saw Van looking confused coming towards her. She rolled her eyes and shook her head. Though she meant to fall, as she was stronger and knew that Wanda was going to push her, she really didn't. She walked down the hall and nodded her head at Van who did the same for her. When Jin was at the corner she overheard what Wanda was saying to Van. "I feel so sorry for that girl!" The voice said. Jin started to laugh quietly, with tons of humor in it however. She had to hold her breath to catch the last part of it however. "That girl…so clumsy sometimes!" She could practically see Van's eyes bulging out even though she wasn't there.

~*~

"Now Van," Wanda began. She had a grin on her face, one of those flirting grins. Van cringed. "Our countries are two of the strongest countries of Gaea!" Van looked at her strangely.

"No offense or anything," He said, "but how do you know that your country is one of the strongest?" Wanda's eyes snapped open a little, but then went to their normal state getting an idea.

"Would you like me to show you where they train? It might be easier for you to understand." She opened up her desk drawer without waiting for an answer. She took out a small little box and placed it on her desk. It was a small oak box with a deep color. It had a golden locket on it. Wanda reached up into her hair and pulled out a little golden key.

Putting it into the small keyhole, she turned it. Inside was a scarlet colored cloth that seemed to be a cushion like thing. She reached into it and pulled a ring with tons of small keys all over it. She put it onto her wrist and stood up.

"Come along V- Lord Van…" Wanda said. Leading him out the door.

~*~  
"I think that's enough…" Zatera said. Merle was getting pretty good at the jump but now all she needed to do, was learn how to land, with her hands still under her.

"It's harder than what it looks…and it still looks hard!"

"It is, at least until you get used to it." Zatera was licking his hand and looking over his nails, to make sure they were sharp.

~*~

"Tyler." Allen said walking up to him. Tyler looked behind him and nodded at him. He was practicing his punches in the air.

"Yeah?" Tyler said after his next punch.

"Have you explored around here pretty much?"

"If getting into close cuts 'cause we're where I'm not supposed to be…yeah."

"Know anything about this castle?"

"Bits and pieces. Can't do to much 'cause I don't live here. Jin would know more about it than me."

"Ah, do you know where Jin is?"

"Sleeping."

"Hmm…well, have you ever heard of somebody going 'a little more of this, the queen shall get her king, and I shall get my award' or anything like that?"

"I wouldn't know anything like that…"

"Are you from around Zantaki?"

"Um…no…" Allen squinted his eyes at him.

"Then where are you from?"

"Death Forest?"

"R - i - i - i - g - h - t, I'd believe that in a second."

"Would you?"

"No."

"Oh…well…can I go see what you're talking about now?"

"You weren't so eager before."

"Trust me, I am now."

~*~

__

"Get away from me!" A little girl cried, "get away!" The man just came closer to her and she backed up and fell. The man smiled at her, showing her some of his golden teeth.

"A girl to do what I want her to, a girl to be all mine!" He said, practically singing it. The girl just kept on crying as the man came closer to her, she backed up some more. "Nuh, uh, uh girly. I'm gonna make you feel good." The girl just shook her head no.

"You're going to hurt me! You're going to hurt me!" She screamed. The man took away his smile and brought his hand to her face, slapping her.

"You will do as I say!" He yelled at her. "I'm stronger than you and can protect you, and all you can do is scream 'you're going to hurt me, you're going to hurt me' well scream anymore, and you can bet that I am you little rich bitch!" He slapped her again. Moving her from her spot on the trunk to somewhere nearby. "Now look at what you made me do! I wouldn't have done that if you hadn't got me mad!" He said, trying to calm her down. The girl just kept on crying. He just got angrier. "I'M OFFERING YOU MY HOME YOU LITTLE BITCH! THERE IS NO WAY THAT YOU CAN SURVIVE OUT HERE ON YOUR OWN! YOU SHOULD BE KISSING MY FEET FOR WHAT I AM OFFERING YOU! A ROOM IN MY HOME WITH A BED TO SLEEP IN AT NIGHT! GET IT THROUGH YOUR HEAD!" He screamed at her. The girl cringed. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a glint of silver. It faded into a brown color. She could barely hear the sound of galloping behind her from the man in front of her who was still screaming. She looked behind the man only to see a buck there. The man turned around to see what got her attention. The man smiled to himself, now that he had away to get the girl into his home. "Are you scared of this varmit? I bet you are! I'll scare him away for you…" The girls head snapped up.

"YOU CAN'T!" She screamed. The man thought that she was worried for him, not that she was worried the buck would go away.

"I'll be okay sweetheart…" He said grinning at her. She stood up and grabbed a stone from the ground. He started roaring at the buck to move but it stayed still, watching the girl, though he nor she noticed. The man picked up a stick and hurled it at the buck, it easily moved out of the path. He then leaped at it, missing it by a few feet. He groaned from the pain. The man started to stand up again and turned around. "I'll get you out of here! So you can be safe…" He started walking towards her. She threw the stone as hard as she could against his face. He put his hands to his eye where it hit closer to. "My eye! You'll pay for that!" He yelled at her as he lunged at her. She backed up against the tree as he grabbed her ankle.

"No! Please! Let go of me!" She cried. She tried to hit him as hard as she could on his wrist, he just looked up at her and grinned.

"I got you right where I want you girl…" He said. He seemed to be trying to make his words go on the air, failing horribly. "Now-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA" He screamed. He let go if her ankle and turned around. She could see blood falling off of his jacket. She saw him pick up a branch and hurled it at the buck…

~*~

Tyler listened to the man inside and shook his head, his eyes were glazed a little bit as Allen looked at him.

"Do you know who that man is?" Allen asked him.

"It doesn't matter who he is." Tyler said looking into space.

"What do you mean?"

"It's what he is."  
"I still don't understand!" Allen said. Tyler took in a deep breath, getting ready to explain. He bit his tongue and put his glance on Allen.

"He's a potion master."

"So…nothing really here huh? Guess my curiosity got the better of me…" Tyler shook his head.

"You don't understand! This is bad! Very bad…"

"What do you mean?"

"You said before that the queen shall get her queen or something like that earlier, right?"

"Well…king actually…but yes."

"How many king's are here?" Tyler asked. Allen's eyes opened with understanding. Tyler was about to say more when he heard a sound from one of the rooms going 'AAAAAAA!' But was to distant for Allen to hear.

"What's wrong Tyler?" Allen asked him.

"JIN!" He said as he raced out the door.

~*~

__

…He hit the buck with all of the force he could. It sent it into the tree nearby. The man started grinning until he started to see what the buck was bleeding. Silver blood. The man looked at the creature while shaking his head no.

"NO!" He screamed. The lightning struck as the rain poured down like buckets that didn't stop pouring the water. Getting them all soaked. The bucks dark brown eyes slowly turned black as it turned its gaze to the girl. She in took a breath as it started to change. Its antlers started to mold together to make a horn, its skin started to change into a whitish silver color. The blood however kept pouring, but not as fast as the rain. The girl took off her cloak and ran over to it. Tying it around the wound.

"This will help," she whispered to it. whether she imagined it or not, she could see his eyes soften up a little bit. She started coughing from the cold. She closed her eyes and fell to the ground. She felt the unicorn stand up slowly. She looked at the man who wasn't moving. It wasn't from shock though, it was what he had done that kept him planted there. The unicorn neighed and the man started moving again. As he started to stand the unicorn got closer to him. It was able to sprinkle some of it's blood into the mouth of the man. The man's eyes rolled back into his head as he fell towards the ground. The girl screamed as his body started to decay. She heard the words clearly though, that came out of his mouth.

"She protected by the unicorn…" He said. His bones stayed there in the grass and the unicorn ran, inside, the girl knew that she might see the unicorn again someday as he ran, she started to scream again though. She screamed at the top of her lungs as loud as she could against the rain, hoping someone would come and protect her.

~*~

Tyler ran into Jin's room as fast as he could. At that moment, Jin sat up and opened her eyes. They were blood shot and she was sweating. Tyler wrapped her into a hug and kissed her forehead.

"It's alright…" He cooed as she cried into his short, he started to rock her back and forth. Allen watched, amazed at how scared Jin seemed to be. Zatera came up behind him.

"What's up with- what happened?!" He yelled the first part but whispered the next part to Allen when he saw Tyler there with Jin.

"She started screaming and came to her side…I never knew she could be so scared!" He said. Zatera shook his head lightly but then looked up at Allen.

"Well…" He said seriously. "She's only human." He nodded his head and looked back into the room where Tyler and Jin were.

~*~  
"What was going on in the dream Jin?" Tyler asked.

"It wasn't a dream!" She said, sobbing into his shirt.

"Than what was it?"

"A memory…" She started sobbing uncontrollably into Tyler's shirt.

~*~  
A/N: For those of you who don't understand, the stuff in italics was Jin's dream or nightmare. I made some fluff for Tyler and Jin! Hehe. I'm looking on the good side of getting braces now so don't worry about it (but if you want to give me any words of encouragement about getting braces feel free to)! Oh yeah! I almost forgot…I put it below so it stands out more…

I NEED SOME PEOPLE TO ILLUSTRATE MY STORY!!!!!

Ok…on my site [ [/Merles Room/][1] ] I need some artwork for my fan fiction… I'm going to be getting some of my own up (sooner or later! ^_^) but I would also like more art talent than just mine up there. If you would like to send in any scenes of my fic (from prologue to this chapter or later ones) please send them to [[/My E-mail/][2]], also make sure that they don't have any NC17 stuff on it k? k. See ya and thanks if you do this!

   [1]: http://www.merlesroom.homestead.com/
   [2]: mailto:www.crookshanksclaw@cs.com/



	18. In the Middle

**__**

Escaflowne ~ A Vision Reborn(17)

In the Middle

By *~A White Rose Petal~*

~*~

A/N: Welcome folks! THANKIES!! Are back! Please R/R this chapter! Thank you for your support on the braces!!

~*~

Summary:

Wanda takes Van to where there military force trains

~*~

Tyler puts Jin back to bed with questions of his own…

~*~

Wanda does the worst possible thing that she could to Zatera and/or Merle…she invites the first person she sees…and who could this be?

~*~

"Sh, it's alright Jin, you go back to sleep now alright?" Tyler said while putting her back on the mattress. Jin was wearing a light blue dress that showed her body nicely. Tyler noticed it briefly but put his mind back onto Jin.

"Tyler, why do you think I keep seeing memories of my past?" She asked him, looking for an answer. Tyler looked at her, inside his mind he was entirely confused. On the outside, his face was emotionless except for the worry that was all over it. He started to bite on his bottom lip. Jin always acted this way when she was extremely worried and tired at the same time. It's not the best mix in the world, and it didn't really suit the 'her' that most people know her as in the day, or good nights anyway.

"I think that you get them," He began, "Because you're back where you made them." He said. He closed his eyes and remembered the day Jin told them that. They knew each other for five days on a no-real-fighting basis and she told him that the royal family of Kantaki took care of her. They were probably twelve than. 'She's lived on both sides of the tracks,' He thought, 'and now she's in the middle.'

~*~

Hitomi was in the library looking at the books. 'Ladies of the Past, Kantaki's Kingdom, The Royal Family: from the first rotation they began to when it was at it's weakest, Men of the Past…' Hitomi read, and the books went on. 'They don't dig anything I'm looking for…' I suppose. She shook her head sadly and walked by a scarlet crushed velvet chair with golden lining and legs. In between the bookcase and the wall was a sheet of paper. She went over to retrieve it.

She bent down and pulled on it lightly. When it wouldn't budge she pushed her hand on the brick and pushed a little harder. The brick gave way and fell into to the wall, but Hitomi could still see the top of it. She picked it up and moved it from the hole. Hitomi put her hand in slowly, she could already see the dust getting piled onto the sleeve of her dress. She picked up a gray book, gray from all the dust. She looked around her, seeing nothing that could help her, put it back along with the rock. She put the paper back in to mark it. She left the room quickly looking for a towel.

~*~

"Stir it…and it will be done…" a voice said crackly. It pulled it's cloak over it tighter. "My award awaits…" He said as he turned the wooden spoon around the cauldron.

"Listen as the lightning comes

listen to the poor people scream

from pain they cannot hide

Weak they are the strong is the queen.

Allow her to have her long

As long as you desire

The love she wishes to keep

You are the on I chose to hire

The lightning has no power

The thunder makes no noise

When love blossomed from an unplanted seed,

It is the loves choice!"

A voice said. Laughing as he did it. Allen in the room right beside it. the words 'I must find Van!' Dancing in his head.

~*~

"I see what you mean…" Van said, looking at the warriors that were practicing at the moment. Some made a symbol on his chest while others put their hands in front of them shot lights from their hands. "What do the lights do? They look harmless." He said.

"Harmless they may seem, but each one has one kind of killing power or another…or at least one that can torture it's victims in it's way…" Wanda said. She examined her nails yet again. She scooted closer to Van, even though he didn't notice, he moved away from her.

"Let's go." He said. He was now wondering why anybody would want an army like that in a war. He also had a strange gut feeling that nobody in there got to chose to fight, and were not forced to go in at a certain age. Wanda followed him outside into one part of the royal garden. Walking beside each other, because it was proper. Wanda talked and did things to make him feel at home there. Van however didn't notice a thing. He stepped forward and grabbed a sakura from a nearby tree, but he made sure that Wanda didn't see it by keeping the flower part of it under his shirt and the stem was tucked in between his belt and pants. 'Something for Hitomi…' He thought.

"You know lord Van…" Wanda said. Van was only 1/2 paying attention but she didn't notice, much. It still annoyed her enough, however, to want to break him from it quickly. "I sometimes invite villagers to come and have a meal with me…Sorry if you wanted it to be all formal but I think that maybe we could bring in the first villager I see…" Van just shrugged. Wanda squinted at him. "What do you think?" Van looked at her briefly than turned his gaze somewhere else.

"I think it's a good idea." He said, hoping she would just get it over with. He didn't want to be rude or anything, but this was taking a lot of time!

"Alright than…" Wanda turned her head towards the gate where a girl in a green cloak was passing. She had gray-pink ears sticking out of the hood showing that she was a cat-girl. "Girl!" Wanda called over to her. The figure in the cloak looked around quickly, only to see that she was the only girl there. She turned and stared at Wanda. She bowed quickly seeing who it was.

"Y-Your Majesty!" She said cheerfully, but a little nervous.

"Girl, would you like to eat dinner with us tonight?" She asked. The girl looked at her questioningly.

"Awlright" She said in a sort of a fake accent. The queen nodded her head.

"When the trumpets sound in two hours, be here."

"Awlright yur maj-est-y!" She said. Wanda was about to turn around but decided to ask the girl one more question.

"What's your name girl?" The girl looked startled but she slipped off her hood and smiled brightly at the queen.

"Why, my names Katy!"

~*~

A/N: DONE!! I wanted to give you guys a chapter SO much! I hoped you liked this one! PLEASE REVIEW BY SKIPPING THE NEXT PART AND THEN COMING BACK UP TO READ IT AFTER YOU DID!!!

It's back…**_Thankies!!!_**

*~AWRP~* - Hey folks! How are ya? Good…thanks for the words of encouragement…ok now! Let's start this thing! ::turns on the radio and the music comes out VERY squeaky…like the wee-wittle kids music:: Um…darn?

Dude- why am I here?

*~AWRP~* - To read the reviews. Oh yeah, these things à mean thoughts…Dude you can go now.

Dude- My names not Dude!

*~AWRP~*- So what's your point?

Dude- Write down my name! It's Ed!

*~AWRP~*- no it isn't. It's ed.

Dude- What's the difference?

*~AWRP~*- it doesn't start with a capitol.

Dude- ::falls over anime style::

*~AWRP~*- I never knew you could do that!

Dude- ::glares::

*~AWRP~*- OK then…go on dude! Read the reviews! Hey…that rhymes…

Dude- I'm so happy you noticed.

*~AWRP~*- ::glares::

Dude-::cowers:: Ok…first review…

*~AWRP~*- ::mumbles:: No kidding…

Dude- How should I do this? Some of them are out of order…

*~AWRP~*- Just do them in order…but make sure that all the chapters are in the right area…

Dude- Um…right…whatever let's start with…

Keoko-sama from chapter ten,

*~AWRP~*- Why thank you! Merle spars! Yippee!

Dude- she is not my sister…I do not know who she is… Next review…

*~AWRP~*- I can read your thoughts you know ::glares::

Dude- That's because you're writing them down!  
*~AWRP~*- Am not! ::hides computer::

Dude- r-i-i-g-h-t ok…

Kulia Mukani from chapter 10.

*~AWRP~*- What does she say?

Dude-…It's blank.

*~AWRP~*- ::blinks:: She didn't review? ::falls to the floor crying hysterically::

Dude- ::moves his feet that are going to get hit by the tears if he doesn't:: Kulia Mukani from chapter-

*~AWRP~*- She reviewed again?!

Dude- Um…yeah.

*~AWRP~*- Did she leave it blank?

Dude- ::groans:: no.

*~AWRP~*- ::rejoices::

Dude- ok…Kulia Mukani from chapter 3

*~AWRP~*- I would like to than-

Dude- What are you doing?! 

*~AWRP~*- Thanking people.

Dude- Than you don't need me! Yippee!

*~AWRP~*- GET YOUR BUTT BACK HERE!! I'VE STILL GOT ALL OF YOUR GAMES HERE HOW DO YOU THINK I GOT YOU HERE IN THE FIRST PLACE?!

Dude- ::groans:: The next one is from…~OKI~………

*~AWRP~*- We're waiting…

Dude- give me a sec…geesh

*~AWRP~*- Isn't it cool when the faces are in the reviews?

Dude- I am an only child and proud of it…I was born an only child with no older sister… from may chapter 10-

*~AWRP~*- A new law of fan fiction is in it folks!

Dude- ugh…~*:o:Angel:o:Hitomi:o:*~ from chap. 10

*~AWRP~*- I would give you the right little star dealy if I knew how to do it…

Dude- can you stop making a remark after each review?!  
*~AWRP~*- :P I'm talking to my reviewers! You're just jealous 'cuz you don't got any!

Dude- 1) It's get any and t- what?

*~AWRP~*- It's what you just said ::laughs::

Dude- ::oblivious to it shrugs it off:: 2) I DON'T WRITE FANFICTION!!

*~AWRP~*- You poor deranged boy…

Dude- ::groans::

*~AWRP~*- Please note that I only put real reviews up here!!!

Dude- ok then… 

jus1digigirl, Sari, Aurora Skies,-

*~AWRP~*- Cool names!

Dude- ::groans:: whatever…

*~AWRP~*- Somebody used whatever as a name?!

Dude- Somewhere I bet they did…can I go now?

*~AWRP~*- ::mumbles:: Whatever is kind of a good name…

Dude- I'll take that as a yes…

Kulia Makani, silver sea star,

*~AWRP~*- and she signs ~sss~ isn't that cool?

Dude- ::bored voice:: wonderful…

*~AWRP~*- HEY! Don't you go get the reviewers mad! READ 'EM OFF OR ELSE!

Dude- ::cowers:: ok…

Oki, youjibaracuda, keoko-sama, ~*:o:Angel:o:Hitomi:o:*~, Sakura, jus1digigirl, oki,

*~AWRP~*- Ew! I got a circle! It starts with oki and ends with oki! Ain't that great?

Dude- Her grammer s---s while she's typing but is great when she's talking…strange…

*~AWRP~*- Watch your mouth bro…what if mom catches ya huh?!  
Dude- ::shrugs::

LESLIE, may, LILYGIRL2001, ~*:o:Angel:o:Hitomi:o:*~, Lady Ayanami, oki, jus1digigirl, may, Innocent Dreamer (x3)

*~AWRP~*- The list still goes…

Dude- ::bawls:: I don't want it to!

*~AWRP~*- READ!

Dude- :P

Fred Weasley's Girlfriend, Lady Ayanami, jus1digigirl, methyl, may, LILYGIRL2001, ~OKI~, Lady Ayanami, LILYGIRL2001, ~*:o:Angel:o:Hitomi:o:*~, jus1digigirl, ~OKI~, Lady Ayanami, Sakura.

*~AWRP~*- Thank you all for reviewing! Please tell me if I should continue these OR find a new style OR go back to my old one OR just stop all together thanks!

PS

It got bunched up at the end because I got tired…it's justified right?!

THIS ENDS THE REVIEW CORNER THINGER MABOB, YOU HAVE FUN NOW YA HEAR? AND REVIEW…IF YOU KNOW WHAT'S GOOD FOR YA! HEHE! TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK OF THIS THING! (ß THE REVIEW CORNER PEEPS!)


	19. Run Hide Get a Disguise it

__

Escaflowne ~ A Vision Reborn (18)

Run Hide Get a Disguise it's Dinner Time

*~A White Rose Petal~*

~*~

A/N: Hey folks! I'm in a good mood at the moment! This chapter has been made to kind of lift your spirits a little bit {Come on people! If you've been paying attention, you would know why this is going to be an interesting chapter}!

~*~

Summary:

Katy comes to the castle to have a 'nice little dinner' in the castle ::coughs::yeah-right::coughs::

~*~

Jin wakes up after her mid-day nap to go to supper…

~*~

Hitomi finds a towel to wipe off the book she found that was covered with dust…and heads to dinner you should all know that by now!!

~*~

"I can't believe it!" Katy said, practically pouncing gracefully with every step she took. Her green cloak flowing easily along with her. "I'm going to the castle for dinner! I can't wait for two hours to end! Imagine my luck!" She said. Her cheeks were pink with her happiness. She went into an alley abruptly and stopped. She looked at the wall with bugged up eyes though nothing on it was out of the usual. She went back to her normal self. She put a mischievous grin on her face, and her eyes sparkled. 'I wonder what Zatera would think…' She thought to herself.

~*~

Hitomi walked back into the room holding a light green towel she again removed the brick and put it inside the hole. Taking care, she pulled out the dusted book and wrapped the towel around it. She left the room quickly, as not to get as many people to see her holding it.

~*~

When Hitomi got back into her room she went over by the window and lightly put it there. She took off the apron she was wearing to guard her from the dust and put it onto the table. She went back to retrieve the wrapped up book and put it onto the apron. Taking care with the towel, she took it off. She coughed from how much dust came flying.

"Ugh!" She said. She wiped off the back part of the book. There was a picture of a bird on it, it didn't look right though, but at the same time it looked perfect. Hitomi couldn't explain it. She wiped it off, now seeing that the book was actually a brownish color. She wiped off the spine. There was a small oval like shape there, it seemed so worn out that she couldn't tell. She could see that there was something above it like a string holding onto it. She shook her head since she couldn't even be sure what it was. She wiped off the cover of it and gasped. 'The word from the prophecy!' She thought. On the cover in fine print were the words;

__

Legends from Presels: Thy words keep thy hopes up

Hitomi put the book down when she heard a maid coming to check on her. The maid knocked on the door.

"Dinner shall be served soon m' lady, shouldn't you start getting dressed?"

"I will!" Hitomi yelled at her standing up. She went over to her closet where she had some new dresses in it. She picked out her green one. It was all green with nothing really special to make it stand out. It was made of heavy silk and fit her like a dream. It had shoulder straps and a short tail, it was cut a little in front. Hitomi hastily put it on and put clips in her hair. 

"There!" She said, examining herself in the mirror. "Done!"

~*~

Allen walked down the corridors slowly. He was thinking about what happened earlier and what he had heard. 'Why would Wanda want to marry Van?' He thought. She really didn't have the same reasons as all of the other princess' who wanted to. '1) She was already the queen and has been for years, 2) She doesn't need the money and 3) she has no friends to brag for!' He thought of the last reason bitterly.

"Bitch…" He whispered as he walked farther down the halls. "She's to stupid for Van, to smart for her own good!" He said. He quickly found out that Wanda knew force and how to use power, in her own way.

~*~

Merle and Zatera entered the dining hall together. Merle was wearing her usual dress but Zatera was scowling about his new set of clothes that were a deep blue. They went over to the table and sat down. Zatera sat next to an empty seat while Merle sat to his right. He whispered over to Merle.

"Why did she choose our seats for us?" He asked. He looked around the hall. It was, from what Zatera supposed, shorter than usual. Merle just shrugged and turned her head to the doorway. She smelled food.

"I dunno…usually, as long as you're sitting in your respected position, it doesn't really matter where you sit…" She said. She got a far off look in her eyes quickly and sat back down. She turned to the table and sat straight, question still in her eyes. "That's odd…" She said.

"What's odd?" Zatera asked quickly. He was wondering if he was doing something wrong. Merle looked at him and squinted her eyes lightly, as if trying to find the answer herself.

"Usually," She said, "The people from the court come to eat with us. This table, however, is far to short for all of them…" Her voice droned on lightly when Wanda and Van were at the top of the hall. Zatera's eyes popped out of their sockets as did Merle's when they saw who was with them. They looked at each other and cringed. Zatera took a breath in. He ducked his head, as if bowing, but he was really trying to hide his face from Katy.

"Zatera!" Merle hissed, "What are you doing? You don't need to bow anymore!"

"One itty bitty problem has occurred _Merle_!" He said her name crossly. She brought her head back from surprise but returned it to stone. Zatera sat up a little bit, kut kept his ears flattened on his head to show that he was annoyed.

"What's wrong Zatera?!" She asked. Zatera looked at her with those same bugged out eyes yet again.

"MERLE!" He said with anger, "She knows I live somewhere _near _Zantaki! I don't live anywhere close to Fanailia!"

~*~

Jin put on her dress.

"I can't believe I'm late!" she said. She put on her light yellow dress that had two slits. One on each sides of the leg up to the hip. She grabbed a black bracelet with a yellow bead on it. She went over to the mirror and put her hair into a golden bun holder. As she stood up, she saw her reflection in the mirror when she stood back enough to show her whole dress. "Oh, yes I can!" She grinned. She didn't know why, but she had a gut feeling that something was going wrong.

~*~

Jin walked into the hall and the trumpets blared at her arrival. After saying sorry because she came late, she sat down in the last seat that was open which was next to Merle.

(The table now looks like this:

Hitomi Allen Tyler Katy

Wanda Van

Zatera Merle Jin )

Jin looked at Zatera oddly for a little bit at his slumped figure and his ears brought back. She looked over at Merle who was slowly eating her food.

"What's wrong with Zatera?" She whispered so nobody could here or see it easily.

"It's Katy."

"Huh?"

"The cat-girl over there! It's Katy!" Merle hissed at her quietly. Jin's eyes snapped open as she jumped out of her seat.

"WHA-" She practically screamed. She put her hands on the edge of the table and steadied herself. Seeing that nobody truly cared right now, she was able to pick up some of Wanda and Hitomi's conversation. 'Hitomi looks stressed at the moment' she thought. She was about to sit back down again until she heard Wanda's next words.

"…So I send people into the forest to kill her! She is obviously who is a skilled killer and must be stopped! I sending in a new troop today! Hopefully THEY will be the ones to stop her…" She went on but Jin didn't hear her. 'She sent in troops TODAY?!' She thought. She swallowed. She stood up to her full height and bowed her head lightly to Wanda who was looking at her strangely.

"I must go check up on my father. I will be back in a few days, so I can travel and come back. We might just have enough herbs to keep him stableized for a while, but not enough to cure him all together. Come along 'era. We need to go." Jin said to Zatera. Only calling him by the last part of his name as not to attract attention from Katy. Zatera nodded his head quickly and got out of his seat. He looked back at her in the hall.

"Thanks!" He said. Jin nodded her head. "I thought I would never get out of there alive!" He laughed. He stopped when he noticed Jin wasn't laughing. "Jin," He asked. "What's wrong?"

"I didn't do that for you exactly Zat." She whispered to him with despair in her voice. He looked up at her questionly.

"What do you mean Jin?" Jin took in a deep breath to calm her nerves down.

"Zatera! I over heard what Wanda said to Hitomi! We need to fight!" She said. Zatera's face drooped a little at the news. They started walking until suddenly Jin stopped. Zatera looked at her and started to sniff the air. His eyes widened.

"We aren't alone!" He whispered.

~*~  
A/N: YIPPEE! I finally got a REALLY good cliffhanger! All my other ones have cliffhangers in the middle of the chapter! Hehe…

I NEED SOMEBODY TO HELP DRAW PICTURES OF SCENES OF MY FIC FOR MY WEBSITES!!! IF YOU'RE INTERESTED, SEND AN E-MAIL TO - [ [crookshanksclaw@cs.com][1] ] THANK YOU!!!!!

   [1]: mailto:crookshanksclaw@cs.com



	20. How it Started ~ Death in the Cat

__

Escaflowne ~ A Vision Reborn (19)

How it Started ~ Death in the Cat

*~A White Rose Petal~*

A/N: AGH! Scary like chapter! EEP!

~*~  
Summary:

Poor Jin, her secrets revealed, the man in the cloak put something onto Zatera. Is he going to -- die.

~*~

Two women were walking down the hall. What was odd about the hall was that it was entirely white. The eldest one spoke.

"Mrs. De Fanel."

"You are my teacher, I should be the one calling you by that, sensei!" The younger one spoke. She took a breath in. "Where am I anyway Kanzaki Sensei? You did not only became my teacher because of what I am, but because of your skills…sensei…am I…dead?"

"You know the answer to that question yourself Varie. You've been dead for quite some time." Varie hung her head a little bit.

"I did not know that. Time seems to be going so strangely. Do you know how long I have been dead?"

"Ten years."

"I've been dead for ten years?! It's barely been five minutes!"

"That's what it feels like, yes. But you have an eternity to live wherever you choose to go so time goes much slower, or faster for some people. Usually those who end up in Hell, time goes much faster. Slower for those who go above." Varie nodded her head at taking this in.

"How long have you been dead sensei?"

"I do not know for certain as I was with yours."

"Oh…"

"Now come along Varie, we must go."

"Go where sensei?"

"To the Mystic Moon."

"May I ask…why?"

"Yes, you may. We are going to the Mystic Moon for my family purposes."

"Does it have anything to do with…"

"No. It does not."

"Follow me Varie. I am still a good few years older than you, though I died after." Varie just shook her head yes. She followed the older woman to a mansion that was middle-sized.

"Where are we sensei?" The older woman drew a breath in.

"We are here to lure a presel into Gaea."

"Do you mean…"

"Yes. My granddaughter."

"How are we going to do it?"

"We must burn it down as much as I hate to say it." The older woman dropped her head and cried into her hands. Varie let a few tears herself fall from her eyes. She took a deep breath and looked towards her sensei.

"What do you want me to do?" The older woman looked at her. She put her hand in front of her creating circles with her palm. A white light went out of it and went over to Varie, putting her into a deep glowing white color.

"That turns you invisible to all who were not on Gaea, the only people who can see it are those who have been on Gaea or are near death. Gaea does not mean you are near death!" The older woman said looking at Varie's face. "Go! Now! I will start the fire. I will urge my own daughter to get hers out of the house."

"Is there any other choice sensei?"

"As much as I hate to say it, no." She swallowed. "We will meet them at the white hall which we just walked through to get here. When they get there we will let them choose to live another life as another person or fully die and go to where they belong." Varie nodded her head.

"Alright, sensei, I will trust your decision on this."

"Thank you, Varie, thank you." Varie nodded and was off, her wings expanded.

~*~

"We aren't alone!" Zatera said. His ears twitching. The figure started to race down to the dining hall. "Oh no you don't!" Zatera whispered harshly so only he could hear. Jin was practically helpless in her dress, as it was bounding her legs together. "Zatera!" She said, as she raced down the hall, as best she could in the dress following him. "Zatera!" She said again, "Watch out!" They were quite a way from the dining hall so nobody heard them. The figure brought out a bottle and opened up the cork. He spilt the contents onto Zatera, hitting him in the eyes.

"AGH!" He said in pain.

~*~  
Tyler dropped his spoon into the bowl that he was stirring absentmindely.

"Tyler…that's your name, right dear?" Wanda said to him sweetly. Tyler brought his head up slowly.

"Yes?"

"You seem to know who those two are a little more than Iris here…though she seems to know a lot about them…tell me…what do you know about them?"

"Huh?"

~*~

Jin tore the bottom part of her dress, allowing her to run faster. It still slowed her down though. She stopped and took off her shoe. She through it straight at his head, getting a yelp from him. He took off her other one and started chasing him again. He turned left, not going straight to the dining hall to tell Wanda what he had learned. It confused her greatly, but she didn't let it show.

As she turned the corner, she could see the man starting to slow down from exaustion.

"Can't handle a jog with a girl wearing a torn dress following you? I'm shocked." She said acidly. She put her hands on her hips. She saw the man droop his head.

~*~  
"Oh, um…I just knew them all my life…"

"Are you siblings?"

"With whom?"

"The cat-boy!" She said in a sarcastic voice, "of course not! I'm talking about the girl!"

"No…"

"Then how did you know them all your life?"

~*~

The man dropped to his knees and put his hands in front of him, as if praying, but Jin could see that wasn't what he was doing. 'Is he…begging forgiveness?!' She thought.

"Please! M' lady! I am one member of the troops that are…to-to fight you today! There was one problem though m' lady!" He said. Jin got down on her hands and knees herself. She put her hands onto her hands onto the front of her legs.

"There!" She said. "Now you don't look so weird!" The man laughed a little.

~*~  
"Um…Tyler mumbled. He looked down to his food. Until he heard a sharp cry. 'ZATERA!' He thought. 'They should be long gone by now!' "I better go check on what that is, my lady." Tyler shook his head a little to the sides than rather down. As if saying 'if you were my lady, I'd be dead now'.

~*~

The scream echoed through the halls, allowing Jin and the man, both, to hear him.

"The side-effects!" The man said.

"They came up this fast?!" Jin said standing up.

"They must have! Unless it's because…"

"What?!" Jin said frantically.

"Because he is part cat…they might come earlier and…well…"

"Yes?"

"Worse." Jin recoiled.

~*~  
Tyler ran down the hall to where Zatera was, which was about in the middle of it.

"Zat! What's wrong?" He asked.

"My-my stomach…It feels like it's being pulled in…ugh!" He fell onto his back and screamed in pain again. Tyler looked behind him, he saw Jin and a cloaked figure coming up to them.

"Tyler! What's happening to him?!" She gasped out.

"He said his stomach feels like it's being pulled out!" Jin got a look of worry and disgust on her face. She turned to the cloaked figure.

"Well?!" She said.

"I'm going to say this once so do it right you to!" He said. Jin stopped him quickly though. She heard a sound from behind them. She turned her head.

"Merle!" She said.

"Jin! What's up with Zatera?" She said quickly.

"You'll know once I'm-agh!" Zatera said. The man brought out another bottle and poured it on him.

"This should lift you up into the air, so nobody needs to pick you up." He said. "All of you!" He snapped. "Follow me…"

~*~

A/N: I suppose it was sort of a short chapter…sorry bout that! R/R please!!!!

~*~

I. F. F. G (Insane Fan Fiction Girls)

If you would like to join the IFFG please send me an e-mail at [crookshanksclaw@cs.com][1] the web site is here à[/ IFFG /][2]

   [1]: mailto:crookshanksclaw@cs.com
   [2]: http://www.icerain.homestead.com/



	21. I Know Who You Are

__

Escaflowne ~ A Vision Reborn (20)

I Know Who You Are

*~A White Rose Petal~*

~*~

A/N: ::sigh:: I'm depressed…my newest chapter of Together Again is done but it's not on this computer and my dad won't let me on the one upstairs! It really s*cks! Isn't life cruel?

~*~  
Summary:

Will the man be able to cure Zatera in time? What will the people still at the table think? Slowly, time collides with torture. Only one last thing to do with it though…Only two choices, to live, or to die.

~*~

Merle was breathing heavily. She was scared now more in her life than ever before she thought. The man took them into a room and put Zatera down on the bed. Zatera clutched his stomach, groaning all the time.

"Ugh!" He said loudly. The man took off his hood to his long hair that went to the middle of his back. He had it lying down his back in a ponytail. Tyler's eyes widened but closed quickly. Thinking that nobody saw him do it, he tried to act normal. Jin however saw him do it and was now very confused. 'Why would Tyler do that?' She thought. Tyler was lost in his thoughts. Jin went over to him and put a hand on his arm, he looked at her quickly.

"What's wrong?" She whispered to him. Tyler looked at her, worries were written all over his face. He took in some breath.

"I'll tell you that when I know who you are." Tyler whispered back to her quickly and then looked away. 'What's wrong with him?' Jin thought. She put her worries back to Zatera, for the moment.

~*~  
Wanda had her mouth open, like she was just slapped and her eyes were wide. She slammed her hands onto the table causing Hitomi to jump a little in her chair. Van looked over to her quickly. All this time Hitomi and Van were wondering what was wrong but decided to stay behind. Wanda would probably follow if they didn't.

"Now isn't that rude?" Wanda said aloud. Her eyes were blazing. "First the girl and cat boy leave, than the blond boy, than the cat girl!" She mumbled under her breath, thinking that neither heard. Hitomi however did. Wanda turned to Hitomi.

"Iris, how long have you known them?" She asked. Hitomi looked at her for a while wondering what Wanda was getting at by calling her 'Iris'. She than remembered what Jin 'named' her.

"For quite a while now, a week maybe. We've become friends quickly." Hitomi said rushed.

~*~

The man left the room while Zatera started to heal. He put his hood back on and started to walk around the castle to get his legs un-stiffened from that room. He started to go down the darker halls seeing that there was nobody there to stop him from looking around went in. That was when everything went black.

~*~

The potion master picked up the body of the man in front of him and dragged him into his room. He grabbed a bottle of clear liquid. It looked like water except for the little bit of smoke trails at the top. He poured it down the other man's throat. The blond haired man's eyes opened immidiately.

"What am I doing here?!" He demanded. The potion master just looked at him.

"Who are you?" He asked. Before the other man could say 'Shouldn't I be asking you?!' He felt himself talking…

"Tarpe La Sooth."

"Is La, your middle name?"

"Aye."

"Sooth…why does that sound famailiar?" Tarpe didn't understand what was driving him to answer the questions. 

"It is the surname for the royal family of Soothe."

"Ah…so you are king?"

"Prince."

"Why are you here?"

"To search out for my younger lost brother."

"Who is that?"

"Prince Tyler Fase Sooth."

~*~

Everybody started to walk back into the hall. Jin said that Zatera was a little sick and found a messenger to take the herbs for them. She also said that Merle staying with Zatera, watching him get better, which was true. Wanda's chest was heaving with anger. Hitomi was now afraid to even talk to her. She didn't want to before but did it anyway. All the candles that was keeping the dinner lit went out. Jin was immidiately alert along with Tyler. One candle was still lit. It was right in the middle of the table. Its flame, dancing on the walls. Making everybody's face look different. Jin took in a breath. She didn't know why but she felt as though, in the back of her head was a little voice that she forgotten was coming out as the flame moved in front of her eyes.

__

"Mommy!" A little girl said. "I want you guys to be safe but I want to be with you! Why won't my magic let me do it?!" She screamed at the woman. Tears were in both of their eyes, coming down like rivers.

'Stop it!' Jin scolded her mind, 'Stop it now!'

"Oh Honey!" The woman sobbed. She went down to the floor on her knees and pulled the little girl over to her. "Oh honey!" She sobbed again but louder this time. The girl clung onto her mother as if for dear life.

Jin felt as if she was on the verge of tears. Everybody turned to Wanda when a man in a cloak appeared beside her. Wanda looked directly at Jin, her eyes wide. Jin felt herself backing up as far as she could to get away from them.

"YOU!" Wanda screamed. Her voice cutting through the atmosphere like a knife. All of them cringed. Jin was just to shocked now. She stayed still. Wanda walked over to her until she was barely a foot away from Jin's face. She brought her hand up and slapped Jin with all the force she could muster. "GUARDS!" Wanda screamed again. Hitomi looked at everyone she looked to her left to see Allen.

"What's going on?" She whispered to him, worried. Allen shook his head sadly, showing her that he didn't even know. Hitomi swallowed as the guards came in. They bowed in front of Wanda.

"What would you like to do with them your highness?" They asked her, still bowing.

"I would like you to grab her and throw her into the dungeons dammit! How hard is it to see that?!" As the two men started to pick Jin up, Wanda screeched again.

"MORE GUARDS NOW!" She screamed. A group of eight guards came in. "You two!" She said to the ones in front, "Go and put him into the dungeons! Make sure that their separate cells! You two! Grab the girl! Iris or whatever her name is! You four go look for the last one! The cat boy!" She screamed. All of the guards left to their targets. Jin now knew what was going on but she didn't know what to do. If she or Tyler showed a good force of resistance, they would know who she was for sure! But if they didn't…Hitomi could be killed… Jin looked at her chances. Remembering that her dress she did the only thing she could do that could go for both sides. Run. Tyler in following suit once he grabbed Hitomi's wrist to bring her along with them. Wanda crossed her chest with her arms. She brought her head a little low.

"Oh, oh…I know who you are Jin, Juearo Hateto though, seems more appropriate for the moment though…" It was then the first bolt of lightning came from the sky as the rain pelted down, enough to drown a normal cat in seconds.

~*~

A/N: Dun, dun, dun…Wanda know Jin is Juearo Hateto or Woman Bird…what is going to happen to Hitomi Tyler and Zatera now?!

(I would like to thank ~*:o:Angel:o:Hitomi:o:*~ for the pictures that she sent me! Thank you! I'll get them onto Merle's Room as soon as possible!!)


	22. Locked Up In Chains, Trapped in Walls

Escaflowne ~ A Vision Reborn (21) **__**

Escaflowne ~ A Vision Reborn (21)

Locked Up In Chains, Trapped in Walls

*~A White Rose Petal~*

A/N: Whew! I just got back from my grandpa's for Easter you know? That was interesting…this is the first Easter I didn't color or find eggs…I'm a LOVER of roller coasters…I love the height and all that stuff but I HATE bridges…walking by the water and have 'I'm going to fall, I'm going to fall…' Is not that much fun…the fudge was great though! ^_^ I love vacations…

~*~

Summary:

Jin, Hitomi, and Tyler are locked up and awaiting Zatera…What's going to happen now that the only people who can save them are needed back home?

~*~

Jin had tears running down her face. 'I can't believe I let this happen!' She thought to herself angrily. She was sitting on a wooden bench. Her arms were tied above her head in iron cuffs. Her feet were left undone, it wasn't like she could do much either way.

Looking around the room, you could see bones and and molding skin from people who were long forgotten by the queen. Jin wondered how long some of them were actually supposed to stay in here.

"Poor people…" She thought out loud, she rolled her eyes. "Lucky me, she's going to get me 'personally' tomorrow morning…" Jin grumbled. She pulled on her chains again. She knew it wouldn't do anything but she had nothing to else to do. Hitomi stared at her.

"Jin?" She whispered. Hitomi was far closer to her than what Tyler was and they could have conversations without Tyler hearing, like it really mattered though.

"Yeah?" She whispered back hoarsely. She wasn't used to being inside as long as she has been and in a strange way it was taking toll on her throat with no fresh air to go into it.

"Who was that man?"

"Which one?"

"The one that was curing Zatera? Or do you know?"

"I have no clue."

"Then about the one who talked to Wanda in the hall?"

"No clue."

"Damn."

"Why do you want to know?"

"I just wanted to see if it was possible that you might know and tell me something about them." Jin shook her head lightly, showing that she understood. She looked over at Tyler quickly and them turned back to Hitomi.

"Why don't you ask the lug?" She said jokingly. She tried to make a joke out of it but her voice couldn't reach Tyler. Hitomi smiled weakly and turned to Tyler.

"Tyler?" She croaked, loud enough for him to hear. "Do you know the man who talked to Wanda or cured Zatera?"

"The one who spoke to Wanda was a potion master, hired to…" Tyler said slowly. Hitomi and Jin both looked at him closely.

"Hired to what?" Hitomi said, going forward as much as she could. Tyler looked to the ground in shame for not telling them sooner, though they didn't know that. He mumbled something under his breath. Jin glared at him and squeezed her eyes shut. She swallowed tightly and finally croaked something out, loud enough for Tyler to hear.

"Tyler!" She said sharply. "Do you honestly think we can hear that?!" She said. Tyler swallowed at the storm that was running through her eyes. Hitomi saw the fear in him, which was not much different from her own fear at the moment. Tyler took in a breath and let it out again. He closed his eyes and bowed his head again. He brought it up and stared at Hitomi, knowing the matter would do more to her than Jin.

"He was hired to…make a love potion…" Hitomi looked confused. Jin couldn't keep attention very well because she was breathing heavily and that took all of her concentration.

"A love potion? So what's the big deal about that?" She asked him. Her eyes narrowed at him. They seemed like a trait Jin picked up when she was younger. Not like a family tree thing, just by being around someone so much.

"It's who she's planning to give it too." He whispered. Though she usually wouldn't hear a whisper from his distance, this one was different. It cut through the air and stung her ears. Jin looked at her and to Tyler. Her mouth opened as she realized what he was getting at.

"Oh my God…" She whispered. Hitomi's eyes widened.

"Van…" She whispered, it sounded hollow, an odd airy feeling in it.

~*~  
"In here you cat!" The guards said to a moaning Zatera. They opened up the doors and threw him through the door. Sending him spiraling on the floor. The guard looked back at and pointed to one the other guards.

"You!" He said sternly, "Tie him up by blond-boy." The other guard nodded and walked through.

Jin looked at Zatera, grief and guilt in her eyes. Zatera was to distracted by his stomach to even fight back. As the man started to chain him to the bars, a light flashed and hit his hand. He looked back at the other guards.

"Who shot me?" He asked. All of them looked almost as shocked as he did. Nobody from Zantaki was supposed to use their powers unless truly needed or are always at works no matter what. All the guards looked at him and around the room. The light seemed to come from almost nowhere. They all seemed confused. The one in charge just shook his head.

"It was probably just a-a light of a candle going out or something." He stuttered. All of the other guards knew better though. A candle going out would not have come this far, or hurt a guard.

~*~

Van looked at his door. He threw everything he could grab at it. He grabbed the glass bowl, put it over his hand, and punched the door with it over his hand. It started to bleed heavily but he didn't notice it. He grabbed the grabbed the mirror and broke it. He smirked, though it had no humor.

"Break a mirror, get seven years bad luck." He whispered. He was about to throw a picture when somebody knocked on his door. A servant of Wanda's.

"Lord Van, you are to see Lady Wanda at this present time."

"It's upon the sleep hour, why is she calling it now?"

"She said if you were a awake, tell you of this."

"Tell her I'm asleep."

"I'm sorry my lord, but I can not." Van growled under his breath as he got over to the door. He opened it up and glared at the woman on the other side. He knew that she had nothing to do with this, but he needed to let it out on somebody that instant, and Wanda wasn't there. The woman swallowed.

"This way, your hi-highness." She said. She turned around quickly and walked down a few halls with Van following her. Soon, she came to a door with gold handles. She grasped them and pulled them open. Inside was Wanda. She was lightly weeping into a lace hankerchief. For a moment, Van thought she was weeping over what she had done. That was until she talked to him.

"I'm so sorry you have to leave so soon, _Van._" She whispered his name, as if she were far away and calling to him. Van shivered, he knew she was going to do something. "Is there anything that you want to see before you go?" She asked, a small smile on her face. Van kept his face stern and he cocked an eyebrow at him.

"What do you mean?" He asked. Wanda smiled at him, showing most of her teeth.

"I mean," She said, an oddly happy voice, "Any certain deaths?" Van's face left it's stern face and went to one of shock. He in took a breath and glared at her. "You seem to not know who I'm talking about…" She shrugged and looked at the window. "I suppose you feel bad, being lied to…" She kept on saying small things like that, and each one kept on getting his undivided attention.

"Who are you talking about?" Van was able to choke out. Wanda looked at, a fake look of shock on her face.

"Oh…you know…Jin, Tyler, Zatera…Iris?" Van looked at her, eyes wide. 'Iris…Hitomi!' He thought. Van looked at her, grinding his teeth together.

"You sentenced them to DEATH!" HE said, eyes blazing. Wanda started to get a little uncomfortable but didn't show it.

"They _lied _to me!" She said, trying to get a larger point than him.

"They did it for this kingdom's good!" He said. He shook his head at her. "This is over. I'm needed back at my castle."

"Their deaths are in three days, they'll be tortured everyday you're gone." She said to him in a calm voice. She put her hands in her lap, looking like she didn't just say anything.

Van started to breathe harder. How could he leave? How could he stay? He would rather stay with Hitomi and everybody he met, but doing that would pull from his duties of King of Fanailia. 'What the hell am I going to do?' He thought to himself. He lowered his hand from the knob and put his head against the door. He sighed.

"I'm going to get a messenger." He mumbled under his breath. He brought his hand back up to the knob and turned it. He stepped out of the room that was holding a grinning Wanda inside of it's walls. 'I did it.' She thought. 'The last step, is almost done…' She thought. She stepped out of her chair and went to the door. Walking out of it a few minutes after Van.

~*~

"Allen! What are we going to do?!" Hissed Merle. Allen was pacing back and forth. Merle was swinging her tail in an angry like fashion, eyes narrowed. Allen sighed.

"I was hoping you came up with something!"

"Me? Why me?" Allen shrugged.

"I didn't come up with one." Merle growled.

"Nicely done."

~*~

Fanailia (Moving along with the messenger)

"The advisors are not going to like this…" The young boy mumbled under his breath. There was really only one strong reason why he took the job as messenger. He got away from Zantaki. Most would not want to leave their homeland, but when things happen like they are now, you're thriving to leave but trapped in your own walls. He turned into the doors. There were two guards there, he swallowed.

"I-I am here to see-see the," He swallowed, "the advisors of, of Fanailia!" He said. The guards looked at him as if they didn't believe his story very well.

"Why must you see them?" One of them asked.

"I am a mess-messenger from Lord Van." He said in a rush, to get it all out so that they, both, would understand. The guards looked at each other and nodded their heads.

"Tosae shall follow you to make sure that you aren't lying." The boy nodded his head and went in front of Tosae who followed him and told him where to go.

~*~  
"WHAT!" One of the advisors yelled. The others had the same look of anger on their faces as the one who yelled. The boy swallowed again.

"Lord Van must stay for reasons that can be left unknown to you." The boy stuttered. One of the advisors glared at him and spoke up.

"Who sent you boy, to tell us that awful lie?" He said. His voice full of hatred. The boy, at the moment, felt as if he were in a torture chamber, that was a little better than Wanda's actual one. The boy shivered, remembering what she did to his father before she killed him.

"Lord Van, sir!" He said. The advisors looked as if they didn't believe him. The boy tried to remember everything that Van told him and his eyes snapped open in an earnest voice, he got out, "I forgot!" He said. All the advisors looked at him, waiting for him to finish.

"If none of you are believing me, a few advisors must come to Zantaki! If none go, grab someone you can trust and will tell you the truth!" He said. The advisor at the end of the row raised his eyebrow.

"I'll go." He said.

~*~

The unicorn looked to the sky. The wind blew his fur from side-to-side but he was unaffected from the cold. He turned around and started to run to the castle. He stood at the edge of the forest on a cliff, looking down at the kingdom of Zantaki. Slowly waiting his time to strike.

~*~  
A/N: 'ello folks! Guess what! I'm learning FRENCH! Sometime (not the near future I think) I might actually get a story out in French! I'm so proud! Lol…anyway, sorry the delay about this story…I'm going to get Oh Together Again up in a couple of minutes…If you would like to see ~*:o:Angel:o:Hitomi:o:*~'s art for this, go here - [http://www.merlesroom.homestead.com/escaart1.html][1] IT IS KEWL!!!!! Well…toodles!

~AWRP

P.S.

I will not get the next chapter up until I see 105 reviews on this…I think that people are dying down on this story…if you read this then why are you not reviewing? I know they don't have the hits thing up but when I DID see it I had like 1543 people have seen my story! Well…bye!

P.P.S.

I'm not trying to make you feel bad!

   [1]: http://www.merlesroom.homestead.com/escaart1.html



	23. The Deaths Are Planned

Escaflowne ~ A Vision Reborn (22) __

Escaflowne ~ A Vision Reborn (22)

The Deaths are Planned

By *~A White Rose Petal~*

A/N: Ok…The next part up…yippee!! [http://www.merlesroom.homestead.com/escaart1.html][1]_ Has art from ~*:o:Angel:o:Hitomi:o:*~…THANK YOU! I have Tyler in my profile at the moment…if he's been approved…he's so cool!_

~*~

Summary:

The unicorn seems to know what's going on…more than anyone else anyway…but what about Jin?

~*~

It's morning…the advisor and messenger are here…time for four deaths…

~*~

Jin opened her eyes a little bit, just in time to see the door creak open. She saw Tyler rising up, as much as he could as he was already sort of up, in the chains.

Zatera started to stir as the light hit him. Hitomi's eyes were bloodshot from staying up most of the night except for maybe an hour.

"Get up!" Wanda snarled, opening up Jin's chains. She had Jins wrists tied together and a new chain around her neck. "Come on." She said. She pulled on Jin's chains even though she was walking along with her. Jin mumbled under her breath.

"Bitch." She whispered harshly, taking care that Wanda couldn't hear her. Jin saw some more guards walking down the halls. Three to be exact. 'Must be for the others…' Jin thought sadly. The two of them quickly climbed the small set of stairs that connected with the first floor of the castle. Wanda took a breath and opened up the door.

They both stepped out into a nicely decorated hall. Wanda went in front of Jin and pulled her chains even harder than before, for no reason really, to get Jin to follow her.

They walked on and came to a balcony. Jin looked over the edge and saw thousands and thousands of people below her. 'The entire population of Zantaki?' Jin thought, looking around the crowd. Wanda pulled her chain again and cleared her throat. She yelled over the people a scream not audible. When everybody was looking at her, she started her speech.

"Dear people of Zantaki! For years on end we have feared for our lives of Death Forest and for only one reason! Her!" Wanda pulled Jin closer to the balcony so people could see clearly, who the Woman Phantom was. There were many gasps from the crowd, for once in their lives after never believing in Jin, they finally see her for themselves. "She, my people, is the Woman Phantom, the Human phantom, Juearo Hateto! She is the one that we fear! She has lied to her majesty, me, and deserves to live no more. Just like her little friends…" Wanda trailed off as the other guards brought Hitomi, Tyler, and Zatera up. Each one being held by a chain on their neck and on their wrists.

~*~

Van glared at Wanda, angry for what she was doing. He was completely powerless to what she did…unfortunately. He couldn't run forward and get them, or anything. He couldn't even slow them all down. He crossed his arms over his chest, trying to came up with a plan to get them out of there.

~*~

Merle paced back and forth, switching spots with Allen. She rubbed her temples with her fingers, roughly. She started to grind her teeth together.

"Allen…" She hissed angrily. Allen's head shot up.

"The room!" He said. Merle looked at him with her mouth agape and eyes wide. She closed her mouth and glared at him.

"Hitomi, Zatera, Jin, and Tyler are going to be _killed _in a few minutes-"

"Three days."

"Three days?! Why the wait?" Merle asked, shocked.

"She wants it to go with the prophecy date."

"The prophecy date…" Merle mumbled, but Allen still heard her.

"The prophecy…it's, well…um…" Allen said, trying to find a way to explain it.

"Well?" Merle said, tapping her foot on the floor.

"Let's see how well I remember this…

__

Upon the dark hour,

When it's supposed to be day,

Deaths occur,

Better lives consume.

The dark creature,

That's always so white,

Comes from it's dark hiding,

And takes flight.

One shall hold the power,

Of the land, one shall be the victor,

Another will leave,

And love the rest forever.

Throughout all warps and wars,

Through all odd times of time,

The true ruler of this land,

We shall all find. " He said. He looked up at her. She nodded her head slightly.

"Let's go."

~*~

__

A girl was walking down the stairs. She had long light-brown hair that went almost to her waist. She was walking down a spiraling staircase. She was wearing a sheer silver gown that went down a little past her ankles. She had matching sandals on. A small silver band went around her forehead.

Music was playing, as this was a party for her, becoming the new heiress/grandmother to the next heir for the palace. She walked down the last stairs as she proceeded to head for the main table. Reaching it, she curtsied and went up the few steps that were there. She took her place by her best friend, or now half sister, Heika.

"I was wondering where you were!" Heika whispered to the other girl.

"I'm sorry! But the maids INSISTED that I change a few things…and we ended up changing everything!" The girl whispered back. The queen, or Heika, grinned and nodded her head. She went back to eating her meal.

~*~ Later ~*~

"Eya!" Heika called the girl with long brown hair by her nickname. "I can't thank you enough for coming the next person in line for the throne, and letting your granddaughter become sister to MY daughter!" Eya nodded her head slightly.

"I couldn't refuse when I heard what was at stake!" Eya said to her. She started fiddling with the side of her top.

~*~ Flashback ~*~

A man, by the name of Ueao, was sitting at the head of a small table. Heika was to his right. Eya was at the opposite end of the king, or Ueao.

"If we let my brother become king, Zantaki will be ruined! It shall be a battle ground full of slaves who were once citizens of Zantaki! I can't let my country go to his hands if I die soon! I fear that that I shall. Your daughter is pregnant and my wife just had our first child. We need you to let us adopt your grandchild. It will still be your own and you can watch her for the rest of her life, but we need just one more heir."

"I know this may sound stupid, but is not one enough?" Eya said.

"It is…in some cases…but our land is wanted by my brother. I may not be king by blood, though my wife is queen by hers, but after our daughter, it would go straight to my brother!" Eya nodded, taking in this information. She sighed but looked up.

"She will still be raised as our child…taught in our ways and not of those of royalty…" She said questioning, making sure that she got this right.

"Yes!" Heika said to her, eyes wide, hoping. Eya nodded her head slightly.

"What have I got to lose?" She whispered meekly. Heika came up and hugged her tightly.

"Thank you for becoming my best friend," She whispered into Eya's ear, "and becoming my half mother!" Both women laughed lightly, taking in their new positions in the family.

~*~

Hitomi opened her eyes, just noticing she almost dropped to the floor from her vision.

__

Was it a vision though? Her mind asked. Hitomi shook her head lightly as she made her way up to the platform where Jin and Wanda were standing.

~*~

"They will die! When the Mystic Moon sets upon the legendary day of the year! The prophecy that shows who the real ruler of Zantaki is showed!" Wanda shouted to all of the people below her. They were all cheering, not really knowing why though. "All of you will see that I AM the true ruler of Zantaki! The final test has come upon me and I will pass it! Do not worry my faithful subjects!" She yelled at them.

~*~

Deep in the crowd, near the back a man stood, eyes open in terror.

"But what about those who are not faithful?" He whispered to the wind. Nobody heard it except himself. He went back to the room where he was pacing, wondering what he should tell those inside.

~*~

The man was outside of a office, waiting for the results.

He felt someone tap his shoulder, a doctor.

"Sir? Your baby is fine though it came quite early. Your wife still needs sleep after the ordeal." The doctor said, handing the man a small baby girl. He picked her up and put a hand on her head.

"We shall call you Hateto." He said, "In honor of the woman who allowed me to be with you today."

~*~

Merle and Allen were rummaging through the small room that he found earlier. Merle tripped over something and fell.

"Ow!" She said, but not that much in pain. She looked at what tripped her and picked it up. It was a small photo. She gasped in surprise when she saw the eyes of the two people in it. "Oh my God…" She whispered.

~*~  
A/N: OH MY! 107 reviews!! That is so cool! I finally have a fic (Other than Oh Hitomi) that has over 100 reviews!! Thank you for dealing with my so called 'problem' in needing reviews! Lol…anyway…I have a new fic idea (It's an AU…and guess who the main couple is!) I haven't started writing it yet because I know if I do…I'm gonna forget about this and Oh Together Again…well…please Review!!!!!!

   [1]: http://www.merlesroom.homestead.com/escaart1.html



	24. The Unicorn

Escaflowne ~ A Vision Reborn (23) __

Escaflowne ~ A Vision Reborn (23)

The Unicorn's Tear

*~A White Rose Petal~*

ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS IN THE A/N!!!

A/N: OK, I got a lot of questions from the last chapter and I don't blame you. A lot of this chapter had to do with ones that were WAY in the back…like the baby being named Hateto. If you remember, in one of the earlier chapters, Jin spares the life of a man whose wife is five months pregnant. This is that man. The room that Allen was talking about was the one where he heard the potion master talking. Van can't do anything because it's not his land, this is not his country so he can't rule it. I hope that cleared some things up…bye!!

~*~

Summary:

The unicorn is on the prowl, searching…searching for a memory…a memory that left Gaea…and went to a new world…

~*~

The unicorn's hooves beat the ground as it ran through the forest. He stopped himself by a tree to calm what his memories brought up.

Though creatures do not exactly think like us, they still can have memories. He let out a desperate neigh, to stop these voices going through his head, but they didn't stop. He closed his eyes as if to block the memories out, but they seemed to come in faster from doing that…

It was almost as if his mind was screaming 'You know those girls from before they were born, you knew, you knew!' His mind screamed. The unicorn neighed again and started to move all around with his eyes closed. He was thrashing about. The small creatures up in the trees have long since gone. He lowered himself to the ground and sat there as he closed his eyes…remembering…

~*~

Hitomi fell to the hard stone floor with a thud. She felt something warm on her cheek. Something wet. 'I'm not crying…' She thought. 'I'm bleeding…' She closed her eyes from the small bursts of pain that her cheek was getting. 'When will it stop?' She thought to herself. 'When will it all just stop?'

~*~

Wanda let Jin out of her bindings in her office. Jin sat still and looked in front of her, as if looking at nothing. Wanda came over and slapped her cheek. She felt small stings on her cheek from the force of it.

"You bitch!" Wanda said, "you lied to me! I fed you! I gave you clothes! You lied! You lied to your queen! The death forest is on MY land!" Jin stared at her, her eyes were dull.

"The Death forest is on death land! It says so in the books! No one has ever claimed the land AFTER you let go of it, as you did not want to be taken responsible for it!" Jin said to her, her eyes were still dull but her voice was anything but.

"I kept that land girl, so watch your tongue…" Wanda said in a threat like voice. Jin just stared at her, unnerved. Wanda, though getting very annoyed grinned as she finally realized something that might help her. "You'll be eating at my table tonight…along with everyone else…" Wanda laughed a little bit and then looked out her office's door. "Guards! Take her away!" She screamed. Soon, two men came in holding handcuffs to keep Jin under control. "You're going to have a surprise tomorrow night Jin!" Wanda called after her. "I can promise you that!" Wanda shut the door hard and went back to her desk.

"I found you…" She whispered as she pulled out a picture with a knife going straight through the girl's head.

~*~  
_"It's a unicorn!" The girl whispered to her friend. The other girl looked at the girl who spoke._

"Eya…This is my first time venturing out of the castle, don't you think that we should be getting back?" Eya stared at the girl who was looking at the trees around the forest nervously.

"Heika! I thought you said you wanted to do what your subjects do when they're bored! You know, get down, and get dirty!"

"I know that…but this is my first time even trying to do this and I'm nervous and-"

"Heika!"

"What?"

"The unicorn should have run off…" Heika stared at her friend, not seeing where she was going exactly.

"So?"

"It's STARING at us!" She said. She slowly brought up her finger and looked at the unicorn carefully.

"R-Really?" Heika said as she slowly turned her head. The unicorn looked right into her eyes and neighed. "He's really pretty!" Heika said. Eya nodded in agreement.

"I think that too!" The giggled a little bit and the unicorn still didn't move, they didn't want him to either. Eya slowly walked towards the unicorn and then saw some silver liquid on its front leg. Heika came to stand beside her.

"Don't touch the liquid!" She warned her, but Eya didn't listen. She slowly bent down to her knees and started to put her hands on the small wounds. Heika looked at her in astonishment. 'She touched the blood…' She thought to herself. She shook her head and bent down to help Eya.

~*~

Jin looked at the animal in front of her in wonder. She saw Hitomi lean down by the unicorn and push the cloth onto it's wound more for pressure. Jin looked shocked and remembered something.

"Hitomi do-" She started to say. But then something hit her. 'She's touching the unicorn's blood! But the blood is poison to certain…I knew it, don't get excited…it could just be that she's from the blue moon…' She thought. She kneeled down by the unicorn with tears in her eyes before helping Hitomi pull the quilt around the unicorn tighter. 'But there's always a chance…' She thought. She didn't get her hopes up though. She gave up on this. Didn't she?

~*~

As the unicorn remembered the two very different events, but in their own way the same, he couldn't help but wonder what could happen now. Slowly…a single tear fell off his face…

~*~  
A/N: WHAT COULD WANDA BE TALKING ABOUT?? WHAT DOES THE TWO OCCURRENCES HAVE TO DO WITH EACH OTHER??

I'm making a Gundam Wing site (Come on…there has to be SOMEONE out there who has seen and liked Gundam Wing and is reviewing…right?) and I was wondering if anybody wanted to help me with it…if you would like too contact me at [crookshanksclaw@cs.com][1] !

   [1]: mailto:crookshanksclaw@cs.com



	25. Virginia, a lost girl

Escaflowne ~ A Vision Reborn(24) __

Escaflowne ~ A Vision Reborn(24)

Virginia, a lost girl

*~A White Rose Petal~*

~*~  
A/N: MY NEWEST CHAPTER! THIS IS WHEN ALL OF YOU SAY = NO KIDDING!

~*~

Summary:

Jin knew the royal family, she grew up with them until the castle was taken over by Wanda. Hitomi has been on the search for Virginia. Is she closer than what she already thought?

~*~

Jin walked slowly to the table, her hands behind her back. Hitomi, Tyler, and Zatera followed her. Wanda ordered the guards to take the cuffs off their wrists. They sat down in the same seats as before. 

After eating a little while Wanda stood up.

"Take them back to their cells! They have had enough food!" She said. The guards put them all back into their cells. Hitomi hit her head and more blood came down her face.

"I really don't need this…" She mumbled silently to herself.

This time, they weren't tied to the wall, just stuck in the cell. They heard footsteps coming down the hall and the door opened. In the light was Wanda.

"Girl!" Wanda scolded over to Jin. Jin scowled and stood up from her seat. Wanda grabbed the chain on her neck and started to pull her out of the room. She stuck her head back in to address the other three. "The guards will be here for you later…we wouldn't want you to miss the show…" Wanda said slowly to them. All three of them sucked in a breath. Jin started to bite her lip. "Come on!" Wanda said, while pulling Jin's chain harder.

~*~

"People of Zantaki!" Wanda addressed them again. "For years on end, we have searched for the princess', to return them home where they belong," Jin started to breathe harder. 'Not even Wanda would do this…' She thought to herself.

~*~  
Hitomi was in the very back of the crowd with Tyler and Zatera. She saw a figure running towards them. She squinted at it and felt some weight that was on her chest lift a little.

"Van!" She cried to him. The guard that was holding her chain jerked her neck, not really caring if he broke it. Van glared at the guard.

"I've been given permission to stay here." He said through clenched teeth. The guards nodded their heads. Van stared at them for a moment.

"Leave." He said. The guards looked at him as if he were crazy.

"And leave the traitors? But they out-"

"Leave. Leave so Zantaki doesn't having bad views from Fanailia." The guards stared at him again 'He's doing this for four murderers?' They both thought. They bowed to him and handed him the chains.

~*~  
In the room…

Merle picked up the painting. On it was a little girl. Around four years old. She was holding a baby in her arms. Merle touched it lightly, checking to see if there was any dust on it. She looked back to where she found the painting. She found a small scroll. She handed the painting over to Allen who squinted at it.

"The girl looks familiar…" He mused. Merle nodded her head agreeing with him while she rolled open the scroll.

On this day, we left our home for a new one. We left behind the only one who could move us to one place or another. It was a trouble though, for she is also one who is needed to be protected…life without her will be awful…find Virginia, find Virginia…

Merle put the letter back down. 'That was strange…' She thought, 'and very creepy!'

~*~

"Zantaki! You have been betrayed by one of your OWN!" Wanda boomed. Jin had tears running down her cheeks. 'Please Wanda…don't do this…please…' She prayed silently as Wanda yelled the news to the people. "She said her name was Jin! Also known as Juearo Hateto! Woman Bird! Human Bird! Now let me tell you what else she is known by…Jin…Jin…VIRGINIA!" Everybody sucked in a breath.

~*~  
Hitomi's head snapped up.

"Vir-Virginia?" She asked. Tyler was staring at Jin, not believing it, like Zatera.

"She's Virginia?" Zatera asked, "But doesn't that mean that…that…"

"She's one of the lost princess' of Zantaki." Tyler said, breathing hard. Hitomi was lost in her own thoughts though. 'Vir-Virginia? She's Jin? But-but that means that…' Hitomi stuttered in her mind. 'I found the person my mom wanted me to! But…how did she know Jin…or Virginia…'

~*~  
A/N: A HAH! I am done with this chapter! Scary huh? Jin-Virginia…If you said Jin the way I do, Jin would sound like the gin in Virginia!! Buh-bye now yuh hear?

~AWRP


	26. And I Cry Myself To Sleep

Escaflowne ~ A Vision Reborn (25) __

Escaflowne ~ A Vision Reborn (25)

And I Cry Myself to Sleep

*~A White Rose Petal~*

~*~  
A/N: Ah…the next chapter…::achoo:: d*mn head cold…

~*~

Summary:

Jin? Princess? How can she stand talking to them all now?

~*~~*~~*~~*~

~*~Hitomi~*~

~*~~*~~*~~*~  
Hitomi looked in front of her as if she was zoned out. In a way, she was. 'My mother told me to find Virginia…and I found her- in a way anyway…' Her mind rambled on and on. She could see Jin kneeling and the chain that was around her neck was loose, showing that Wanda wasn't making her bow. 'She's not bowing to Wanda though.' Hitomi thought silently to herself, knowing that Jin was to proud to do that. She shook her head and brought her head back up quickly, looking oddly determined. She could hear the guards coming over to her but she didn't look at them. She looked up when she saw Van starting to stand from the bench that they were on.

"I hope they didn't cause to much of a problem, your highness." She heard one of them say. She didn't hear Van answer so she mused that he just shook his head, hopefully indicating that they didn't. She felt her chain being picked up lightly, when she looked to the side, she saw Tyler and Zatera both being jerked up by the guards. She looked over to her side and saw that Van was the one holding her chain, instead of one of the guards. She smiled lightly at him, worried if she did anything else, she'd get in trouble from the guards and that Van might not be able to get her out of it.

They went down the halls and were either thrown or lightly put into the dungeon. They were bound again though. Hitomi sighed, could life get any better? She thought. Usually people say that when their lives are wonderful and going the way they want them, but, at the moment, she didn't know if things could ever get better again.

~*~

The three of them looked up again when they heard the door creak open. A guard was leading Jin in and tied her by Hitomi in her old spot. The guard left without saying a word and the room was quiet, nobody really knowing what to say. Hitomi looked over to Jin when she heard something come out of the older girl's mouth. She swallowed.

"What?" She asked her. She saw Tyler and Zatera begin to look over to the two of them.

"I'm sorry." Jin hoarsely whispered. The others just looked at her not knowing what to say. "I'm so sorry." She said. Tears started to break through and they started to flood her face.

~*~

Wanda was walking through Death Forest. She was going to an area where the people of Zantaki went to all the time to mourn for the Royals who had died in the past. Some go just to see what stood there. When Wanda got to where she wanted, she looked in front of her. There stood a tree, the tree of Zantaki.

"In the heart of Death Forest…" She whispered to herself. She remembered how she learned that the branches fell. The soldiers who got past Jin and were able to see it. She sent a few messengers to the first few places that popped into her mind. It was what Zantaki was famous for. Wanda brought a hand up to her chin. 'Jin has probably never even been here though,' She thought silently to herself. 'She wouldn't want to see who died in her family…' Her mind mused. She saw that there were two branches on the tree. Her face changed into a nasty expression. 'I suppose that I'm not on there…UNLESS' She thought to herself, remembering the two branches on the tree, 'I am one of them…' She smiled at the thought, 'and only one little princess to kill.'

~*~

__

The Next Night…

It was the day that the deaths were planned. It was almost midnight and the storm had just started to hit. Small droplets of rain fell from the and hit the dirt. The people of Zantaki ignored it all though. A death by execution to a princess is something that has never happened before. Not anywhere over Gaea. Hitomi was to be killed after her.

Zatera was to be last killed, from the help of Katy. She wanted her face to be the last thing he sees before he died. Zatera would have made a wise crack like 'Then I'd be in hell, even if I went to heaven!'. He thought silently to himself as he heard this, 'I'd rather it be Merle's' he thought.

~*~  
The unicorn's fur was getting wet. It ran through the trees and grass, making mud, water and muck fly everywhere. He saw no creatures or animals in front of him. Though that was typical. Unlike the humans, they KNEW what was really going to happen…only they knew…once there was a time when the Presels could understand what was to happen, or at least predict…there is only one Presel now and in the animals' minds…they knew that. There was no real reason to how they knew. They just knew.

~*~  
Hitomi turned her head over to Jin. It was the worst question to ask but it had been bugging her so much. She sucked in a breath and let it out.

"Jin?" She said. Jin turned to face her.

"Yeah?"

"What's a Presel?" She asked. Jin looked at her for a moment and looked towards the ground. She looked back up to Hitomi.

"Do _you really _want to know?" She asked her, inside she was hoping that Hitomi would say no, but she knew that she was going to say 'yes'.

"Yes Jin! I really want to know! It's been bothering me so much ever since I've heard it!" Jin sighed, knowing Hitomi really wanted to know.

"Hitomi…you _are_ a Presel!" She said to her.

~*~

A/N: What do you think so far? The Presel thing will come to be better understood in the next chapter so DON'T WORRY (like you really would…).

~AWRP


	27. Stories...one now, one then...

Escaflowne ~ A Vision Reborn (26) __

Escaflowne ~ A Vision Reborn (26)

Stories…one now and one then…

*~A White Rose Petal~*

~*~

A/N: ::Cough, cough:: I've still got a head cold…and had to live through school with it…oh the agony! ::cough, cough::

~*~  
Summary:

What IS a Presel anyway? There are no more in the village…Hitomi is one, and Jin was educated about them…what could Hitomi be? What could Jin know? Why did Hitomi's mother want her to find Virginia…or Jin anyway…?

~*~

The two women looked at each other. Their job here was done and now all they had to do was meet the ones who were killed by the blazing flames in the hall. Varie's wings were not out anymore but she was slightly sore from them being out and picking up the spirits of the dead body that was being burned.

"I thought I was supposed to be dead." She said flatly, "Why do I still feel pain?" She turned to her sensei who glared lightly at her.

"What is hurting Varie?" Varie was about to say her wings but she knew, oddly that it wasn't.

"I don't know what hurts sensei, there's a burning sensation and it feels like something is pounding around me at the same time **_but_** _it's not my wings!" She told the other woman who nodded her head._

"I see…ever wonder that it might be a family members pain that you are feeling?" She asked her. "A…son maybe?" Varie turned her head over to the other woman as fast as she could, there was a shocked expression on her face and her eyes were opened wide.

__

"VAN?!" She said finally. All she got from her sensei was a small nod and they kept moving forward until they heard voices coming from the white hall.

"I see that our guests are already here…" The older woman said as they walked into the white hall.

~*~

"What do you mean 'you are a Presel'?!" Hitomi asked with a strength that she did not know her strength possessed. Jin sighed and pulled on the chains that bound her wrists. She closed her eyes, as if doing some hard thinking. She opened her eyes again and stared at Hitomi.

"Close your eyes, I'm going to tell you a story." She finally said in a voice that Hitomi wouldn't dare argue with. "A few years ago…

*(* Jin's Story *)*

__

A small girl was running to the edge of a lake and looking around it. Everything there seemed normal, except **for** the girl. She was wearing a light blue dress and had long black hair that was curled into ringlets. Hitomi could clearly see that this girl was a princess, but luckily for her, not Wanda, just from looking in the girl's eyes. 'How can I see the pictures so clearly in my mind?' Hitomi thought. After she closed her eyes, Jin started to tell the story in a talking voice, but soon she started to sing lightly. _The girls knew everything in that forest, knew what everything was and, if she was taught what certain plants and animals were, was able to say what they were. One day, the girl was walking barefoot around the lake when she heard a voice singing. She wanted to know what it was and listen to it even closer. She searched for the voice day on end to know prevail. She went to her mother, the queen at the time, who told her to go and find the lords and ladies of the court. They would know what to do. She went and asked everyone there. Anyone who she could get attention long enough to ask. Only a few would listen, but they only told her that they did not know, and to go and play with their daughters or sons. She would smile, though not a real one, at them and leave. She cried after every time she did not get an answer that she wanted, and that was every time. Until…_ Hitomi's eyes snapped open.

"Until what?" She asked. "Until what?!" Jin looked at her with glazed eyes.

"Be PAITIENT!" She said. She felt a little sorry for it but it was hard to remember the full story sometimes. Hitomi nodded a little bit and then closed her eyes to listen to more of the story…

__

Until…she was crying in the wood, the trees surrounding her like an overprotective fort years after the war had been won, there was no need for it. She knew it would make no difference whether anybody saw her or not. There would be some who would come and try to calm her down, but none would be able to help her understand the voices she was hearing. She brought her head up quickly when she heard the snapping of twigs behind her.

"Huh? Who-who goes there?" she asked from where the sounds came. Slowly, an old man with a battered cane came out of the brush with his hands up in mock surrender. He bowed to her slightly. She nodded her head to him and her tears started to lessen but they still came.

"May I ask her highness what is wrong?" He asked her. She nodded her head a little bit and sniffed.

"A few days ago…I heard voices singing…SINGING!" She emphasized the word, "and I tried to find who was singing such a beautiful song…walking around the forest, I couldn't find anything. I went to my mother and took her advice of asking the lords and ladies of the court but all they said is that I shouldn't worry and that I should make friends with their children or grandchildren or so forth!" She said. The old man shook his head yet again.

__

"I see." Was all he said. The girl sat still, waiting for him to say something, or say that this is no matter of hers that she needs to be thinking about. But he didn't. All he did was sit down by her. "Now tell me child, where did you hear these voices?" He asked her. She was about to say the part of the forest she was in…but was she in the forest? Or did she just dream it all?

"I-I think I dreamed the whole thing…" She whispered, her eyes were zoned out and the old man chuckled lightly.

"Maybe it was telling you something that you needed to know." He said. The girl shook her head lightly.

"How did you know that, **that** would be the answer to my problem?" She asked him. He laughed again.

"You won't believe me!" He said sadly. The girl pouted and he sighed, "I suppose I could…" _he mumbled. "Last night, I saw a flash of light and I saw you crying, then things changed and I saw you sleeping, then I went into that dream where you heard the singing, and then, I saw what you were doing right that instant when I saw the flash of light. You were walking away from the hall with tears on your face. A sad looking princess you were…" He told her. Her eyes snapped open._

"You **saw** **all** of that in a flash of light?!" She asked him. He nodded his head. She was about to tell him that she needed to get home when she remembered something. "What is your name?" She asked him. He turned to look at her quietly, as he always did everything.

"You, your majesty, may call me, Presel." She nodded her head. She looked the other way when she saw a rabbit come out of the bush near by.

"Good bye, Presel." She told him. She got no answer. "Presel?" She asked again. She turned around and gasped. The old man was no longer there…

*(* End of format that way *)*

"A few days after that, a body was found dead in the forest. The princess asked if she could glance at the body, she saw that it was him, Presel. He was lying dead and his skin went from peach to a pale blue. The princess knew that it was Presel though. She saw a small piece of paper on the ground and picked it up. There was nothing written on it. She went to one of the lords and asked for a quill who gladly gave her one. She wrote 'You will always be remembered in thy heart as well thy land.' She put it in his cold hand and made it into a fist. Years later when she became queen, she said that **anybody** with the gift that her dear friend had, would be called a Presel as she called the people _her_ people when they were in groups." Hitomi looked confused.

"What does this have to do with _being_ a Presel?" She asked. Jin smiled weakly at her.

"Everything." She told her. "Everything in that story…"

~*~  
A/N: MY HANDS ARE GOING TO FALL OFF!! I WROTE THIS IN 20 MINUTES OR LESS!!! I Think I deserve a hand…lol, anyway, I hoped that you guys liked this and…tata!! ~AWRP


	28. Open your eyes and Prepare to Die

Escaflowne ~ A Vision Reborn  
Open your eyes and Prepare to Die  
*~A White Rose Petal ~*  
~*~  
Summary:  
The plan is set. The date is here. Jin remembers her life, from every second of every year.  
~*~  
WARNING! There is a really sad part in here! You could call it a tissue alert but it's not like that...I tell you what it was but then the surprise would be taken away...just be warned that something REALLY sad happens in this chapter...bye...  
~*~  
Hitomi sat quietly in the dark, listening to the sounds the other three made in their sleep. 'Is this how my life ends? By the hands of a bitch?' She thought grinding her teeth together lightly at the part about Wanda.  
"Why?" She whispered. She wasn't expecting an answer but she got one anyway.  
"Because life sucks and that's that." A voice said. It was a male voice but not Van's voice. Hitomi's eyes widened as she looked over to the door. She let her lips curve into a small smile when she saw who was standing in the doorway...  
~*~  
Wanda looked out of her window as the rain pelted down to the ground like buckets.  
"We're having quite a lot of storms lately..." She said to herself, "That's a good sign..." She tapped one of her nails on the glass. It was beginning to become a habit of hers. "It is time to see who the right queen is!" Wanda whirled around and grabbed a knife that was lying on the table beside the window. She picked it up and raised it into the air. She brought it down onto the desk, getting a notch in the wood. She started to breathe heavily. "I will show them all..." She thought to herself... "I will show them all, that I, and only I, am the rightful ruler of the throne..." She laughed in the night as a loud scream penetrated through the town of Zantaki.  
~*~  
The water was rising. It was up to a small child's stomach, maybe, and wasn't looking like it was going to end any time soon. A mother was running out into the water, getting down onto her hands and knees, searching through the water for a body.  
"Where are you? WHERE ARE YOU?!" She screamed in a tense scream. "MY BABY!" She screamed again. She put her hands into the water and felt something. Her eyes lighted up with hope. She brought a small frail body out of the water and screamed for anyone to hear. "MY BABY! DEAD! SOMEBODY SAVE HIM! SAVE MY BABY! SAVE MY BABY!" She screamed. Some of the men started to come out into the water to grab the sobbing woman. She got up and ran into the forest, what is also known as Death forest. "Juearo Hateto! Kill me now!" The woman yelled, even after the announcement that Jin was Juearo Hateto. She collapsed still holding the baby in her arms and started to sob quietly to herself. "Kill me now, Juearo Hateto, kill me now..." She whispered to the wind as it blew past her and her now light blue son lying in her arms.  
~*~  
Jin's eyes open and tears were streaming down her face. 'Why am I crying?' She thought. She bit her lip as she remembered the scream that she heard come from the village.  
"What's happening out there?" She thought to herself. She wanted so much to go out there and help those people...to go out there and give them hope... More tears rushed down her face as she realized what she probably was doing right now. She tried to bring her hands down and wipe the tears away, but they were still locked up. She felt a rough hand on her shoulder but couldn't bring herself up to see who it was. She closed her eyes again as she cried herself to a cold dark sleep. 'What now?' She thought to herself, 'What now?'  
~*~  
A/N: I'm on the computer that I'm not supposed to be on at the moment so be very happy that I did this chapter and got it out to you when I did...this is my dad's computer and he's going to kill me soon so I have to go make up a will...any of you want my t.v. (j/k)? g2g now bye! ~AWRP  



	29. Until We Meet Again...

Escaflowne ~ A Vision Reborn (27) **__**

Escaflowne - A Vision Reborn (27)

Until We Meet Again…  


~*~

****

*~A White Rose Petal~*

~*~

**__**

Summary:

A wish. Such a small word for such a large and important thing…Wish. Could it save Zantaki? Or burn it down for good? Or both?

~*~

Jin was being led to the balcony that Wanda used to talk to the people of Zantaki, once again. 'Why does she always have to do these stupid announcements?' She thought to herself. She already knew that Wanda did it because her death would be supposedly different. She was the one who the people always would wish to magically reappear out of nowhere and save them from Wanda. Jin would not let anymore tears fall from her face. She had cried enough. There was nothing to cry about now, though there wasn't really any reason to cry before… Just that Zantaki thought she betrayed them, her getting Hitomi, Zatera, and Tyler put and jail, and her secret released for all of Gaea to know…Jin was wishing for a miracle…it would be a miracle itself if her wish came through…

~*~  
The boy with the advisor from Van's kingdom looked around Zantaki as the advisor did the same. Being on a small cliff, the water still hit them hard but it went down the muddy path to the village below.

"What's going on?" The boy wondered. The advisor looked at him, shocked.

"You mean that this isn't… **normal** in Zantaki?!" The boy was starting to get a little annoyed from the advisor.

"Just because we can do strange things doesn't mean we control everything you know!" The boy snapped. He looked down the cliff and saw that the safest way down was to slide down the front of it. The path to the village was blocked up from the water. The boy shut his eyes tightly and groaned to himself. 'This is not my day!' He thought to himself silently. He turned to the advisor. "Sir, I believe that you must except my help. You will not reach the bottom of the cliff safely if you don't." The boy said. He had to yell for the advisor to hear him because he started to walk away a little bit. The advisor looked over to the boy and came up to him. He stopped in front of him.

"And how can you help me?" He asked the boy.

"My power is to be able to make landforms change shapes." He said. He waited for the advisor to respond.

"Make stairs."

"Can't."

"Why not?"

"Takes to much energy. Everybody in Zantaki tries _not_ to use their powers because it can be so tiring!" The boy said it all quickly. The advisor growled under his breath but finally nodded.

"fine." The boy nodded his head and turned his back to the advisor. He raised his hands into the air and they started to glow. He pointed his hands down to the dirt cliff. The advisor could see holes forming into the dirt. He was wet enough as it is! This boy didn't expect him to get muddy either did he? Did he expect _him_, advisor of one of the most (now) known kingdoms of Gaea? He wants him to climb down a cliff and get his robes dirty?! "no." He said flatly when the boy finished. The boy was starting to look a little tired. His ((the boy)) eyes widened and his jaw dropped. He closed it back up in anger.

"Grrr…I'm trying to help you get to Van!"

"I will not climb down a cliff!"

"You apparently can't do it!" The boy said. 'Time to start reverse psychology…' the boy chuckled to himself lightly, the advisor didn't hear him, though. The advisor turned to him.

"What do you mean 'can't do it'?!" He asked.

"Exactly what it means!" The boy shouted back. "My great great great grandfather could climb down this cliff and he's lying in his damn grave now!" The man glared at the boy. He went over to the cliff and started, carefully, going down the cliff…getting his hands dirty.

~*~  
Tarpe stood in the doorway. He was the one that said, 'Life sucks, and that's that." Hitomi's smile started to turn into a small frown when something dawned on her. She turned her head to look at him better.

"Why are you down here?" She asked him. He looked over to her and shrugged slightly. He pointed over to Tyler.

"Who is that?" He asked her. Hitomi's brow crumpled in confusion. 'Didn't those two already meet?' She thought to herself.

"Tyler." She said simply. That's really all she knew about him was his name. She was wondering why Tarpe was looking a little nervous. He walked up to Tyler and brought out a small little bottle with purple liquid in it. Hitomi, remembering what Tarpe did to Zatera, of course was worried.

"Hey! What are you doing?" She asked him. Tarpe ignored her. Hitomi stomped her foot on the ground. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" She finally yelled. She saw Zatera and Jin starting to wake. It was strange watching. Their eyes shot open and Jin was almost like she was going to jump on something but the chains that helped her prevented that.

Jin looked over and saw what Tarpe was putting something up to Tyler's lips. Her eyes widened.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! STOP!" She screamed. Tarpe picked something up off the floor. All Jin saw was darkness…

~*~  
Hitomi and Zatera saw the rock that hurtled over to her head. Their eyes widened but before they could say something…both of them fell into a deep black darkness with a question in their heads. 'Has Tarpe…betrayed us?' Had he? Was he supporting Wanda? What now?

~*~  
A/N: _What now? I'm using that for an ending quite a lot now ne? well anyway…my Esca tapes should be here **any** day now (AWRP is outside waiting by the mailbox whistling) Well…the post man will be here soon and I have to meet up with him…bye! ~AWRP


	30. To be a kid again

Escaflowne ~ A Vision Reborn (29) **__**

Escaflowne ~ A Vision Reborn (29)

To be a kid again

*~A White Rose Petal~*

__

A/N: Guess what! It's the next chapter! Sorry it took so long to get this out…

~*~

Jin slowly opened her eyes. She saw light. Light. Jin's eyes started to widen. Light! Light? Why would light be here…She started to look around her surroundings. What she saw only brought one thought to her mind. 'Oh no…not now! It can't be now!' She thought. The sky was dark and was raining, but that didn't stop the fire was burning. They were under a tarp and the rain went over the sides. It sounded like a nails hitting a board when the drops hit the cloth. When she woke up, she saw that Hitomi and Zatera were to both knocked out. Something in her mind slowly got a question. Where was Tyler? Jin started looking around frantically when she heard Wanda speaking.

"And so…Tyler is no longer going to be killed. The kingdom has proven him as their prince and will cause a war if we killed him. We never did have good relations with the kingdom Soothe but I believe it is the best for my subjects…" Wanda drawled on. Jin's heart stopped and her breathing ceased. Tyler? Tyler…prince? Tyler……gone? She thought in Tarzan if you would put it that way. Jin bit her tongue and closed her eyes, determined not to cry. She looked over to her side and saw Hitomi slowly opening her eyes. She sucked in a breath. She was going to listen to the rest of the announcement.

"And just an hour ago," An hour? Is that how long she'd been out? Maybe it was longer…, "An advisor of Van's came!" Jin knew that this wasn't good. Wanda was acting to giddy. "Apparently Van has to get married sooner than what his parents had planned! And because he has not yet found a suitor(ess?) of his liking…he shall get married to me in three months!" Jin just stared in front of her. She couldn't look to her side to see Hitomi. She didn't know what her reaction would be. It was going to be something like when she heard about Tyler probably…shocked, scared, alone…Jin finally let a few tears fall down her face. She finally looked to the side and looked at Hitomi. Hitomi was on her knees, still. Very still. Almost as if she was paralyzed. Her eyes weren't wide. They were nothing like what Jin had done. She just stayed still. 'It's just a dream…a-a nightmare!' She thought, 'Van is _not_ marrying Wanda.' She thought confidently. She didn't know why, but she really didn't feel sad at the moment…how could you when you felt a small question that can push everything you were thinking about a way? A string of silver. Maybe white…she wasn't sure…'Is that…something that can…' The thought didn't finish. Hitomi was jerked up. She was pulled to the back of the tarp and chained to one of the posts. Zatera right after her. She looked over to Jin to see if the same was happening to her. She wasn't. Jin was being lead out into the rain and was instantly soaked along with the guards. They climbed up the stairs to the noose that was looked as if it were waiting. Hitomi knew that this was going to happen, but she never saw it before. Jin's head was put into the noose and the guards tightened it up. Jin took a deep breath. She looked over at Wanda who looked over at her and grinned. She nodded her head. "Hang her." She said. Jin heard the man opening the small door that was right underneath her.

~*~  
Tyler was hammering his door frantically. He heard his second oldest brother, Taoes, yelling at him.

"Tyler! Just give up already! Your door is locked! Do you know how stupid that was?! What you tried to pull off? And speaking of that small point…what WERE you trying to pull off anyway?" Taoes asked. He expected more hammering of fists. Maybe some yelling. But what he heard mortified him a little bit. All he heard was silence. He swallowed lightly. "T-Tyler?" He stuttered. He looked at the door. He put his hand on the knob and turned it. The last thing he saw of Tyler was his handing leaving the window and going down the sheet rope. "Oh shit!" He cursed, "Mum is not going to like this…" He said out loud. He closed his eyes as a thought went around his head. 'I should have known that Tyler would do that."

~*~  
Van was locked in his room. Literally. He couldn't get out of the room because of the guards that were watching on the other side. All he could was stare at the ceiling and wait. He could hear everything that was happening…it wasn't that far away from his windows but he still couldn't see anything. He kicked the mattress on his bed in frustration. 'Well…this is the pits…' He thought sarcastically. He wondered what he was going to do now, be stuck in the room and wait for his 'fiancé' to tell him it was okay for him to come out. Van closed his eyes as he remembered once…or twice…or a few other times…when this happened. He would get in trouble and would be sent to his room so that his parents could calm down a bit…and he could think about what he did wrong, or so they say. 'Just like a kid again' He thought scornfully. He wondered why that was the only thought that he could think of. An answer came to his head that made him think many things over for a bit. 'because I want it back?' He thought. It was interesting…now that he thought about it. He never really thought that he would be 'wishing' it back again. He missed it from time to time, but never wished for it back. Or had he?

~*~

Merle was unconcious on the floor. How she got there, she didn't remember. She was just there. She looked around the room and saw that she was the only one there. 'I wonder where Allen is…' She thought, looking around her surroundings. The walls were made of gray brick, and the stench was awful. She came to a very fast realization to where she was. A dungeon.

~*~

A/N: Aw…the next chapter! I hope that I will get the next chapter for HIA% up soon! I'm working on all of these and it's ::looks at clock:: 12:49 p.m. …my mom is going to kill me…(I live in constant fears of my parents killing me, lol)


	31. The End...

Escaflowne ~ A Vision Reborn **__**

Escaflowne ~ A Vision Reborn

By *~A White Rose Petal~*

~*~

A/N: I am SO sorry! I haven't been writing for like weeks and I hardly gave you anything to even read! I'm SO sorry again! Geesh! Well, time to read, I MADE IT SEVEN PAGES LONG! FORGIVE ME! LoL!

~*~

--Piece of the last chapter…

__

She looked over at Wanda who looked over at her and grinned. She nodded her head. "Hang her." She said. Jin heard the man opening the small door that was right underneath her.

--

Jin closed her eyes lightly. She snapped her eyes open right before she was truly hanging.

"WAIT!" She screamed. The guard who was in charge of hanging her was shocked and he stopped. Wanda turned to her, irritated.

"Why have you listened to her?" She started screeching at the guard but Jin yelled at Wanda before the guard could even answer.

"Wanda, stop! If anyone should be hung its you!"

"Take that back!"

"Over my dead body." Jin said calmly. She knew Wanda well enough. Wanda would want people dying thinking that _they_ did something wrong and that they should have listened to their queen. Jin, in her mind, was praying. Jin almost smirked when Wanda started to fall into her trap, but that would reveal what she was doing if she did.

"WHY do you say _I_ should be hung."

"You only know if you untie me."

"How stupid do you think I am?"

"Stupid enough to think that one of MY armies could kill me." Hitomi looked over to see what Jin was doing. At first she thought that Jin was just stalling for time, but then whispers started going all through the crowd. She looked over to Zatera only to see that he was starting to grin. She bent down to him a little bit.

"What's going on?" She whispered. Zatera just shook his head happily and his grin growing a little while.

"It's an old tale about Zantaki. All true royals would be able to stop small armies on end. Everyone thought it was just a legend, I mean it's been floating around Zantaki for years! You see but nobody actually wanted to find out whether it was true or not because its like, it won't find the true hero to save our land, it will show that that prince will be extra strong and stuff like that, so nobody really cared…" He told in the small time that he had. Hitomi nodded her head at it. Wanda stared opened mouthed at her and then closed it.

"You think that YOU are the chosen royal? Do you want to kill anymore fathers, brothers, and grandfathers while you're at it?" She knew that that would strike a nerve. To her surprise though, Jin kept calm.

"I don't need to Wanda, you just keep on sending them to kill me. If I didn't fight back they _would_!" She knew that not many people in the crowd would like hearing that, but, its true. 

"**I **sent those armies? Why would I do that?" She hissed, "Anybody with sense wouldn't do that when one army fell!" She said. It didn't make much sense to Jin but she supposed it was because Wanda didn't help the armies trained. Everyone in the crowd thought that Jin was going to come back with a comeback except one. The person who did it for her.

"What do you mean 'why would I send more in?'" Someone yelled from the crowd. It was one of the men that Jin let go with his life.

"Peasant, keep your mouth shut!"

"Look!!" a voice said. The crowd parted so that they could see easier. There was a small silver puddle in the ground. Suddenly, the silverish liquid jumped up from the ground. And changed its form. It changed into a silver eagle and started to fly in to the other direction. Everyone turned to see where the creature was going. It was at the top of the hill where the eagle disapeared. It was WHERE the eagle disapeared that truly shocked everyone though. The eagle turned into a liquid again and went into the horn of the unicorn. That's when something clicked in Everyone's head, even Hitomi's though she's not used to their legends. Another murmur went through the crowd they were all saying, 'The unicorn's blood,'. Hitomi bit her lip as scenes flashed through her eyes.

--

A four year old girl and an eight year old were sending lights at each other and both were getting worn out.

"You will not help the run away Virginia!" A girl with black hair and small silver and white streaks in it screeched. Virginia just shot another shot at her opponet. She wasn't used to fighting like this and wasn't going to use her voice to slow herself down. The other girl, Wanda, kept on taunting her.

"Aw, poor Virge forgot how to speak!" Wanda snarled. Jin hit her in the stomach with a blast that sent Wanda tumbling into the other wall. Jin heard Wanda whisper something and her eyes widened as she covered her mouth with her hand. 

"_teareozas_" Wanda whispered. Jin recognized what the word meant. She didn't want to but she knew she had to retreat. Sooner than what she hoped, crows started following her, started to peck at her. She was thankful that she got all of them to the other planet earlier as she fell to the ground. The crows were still pecking her flesh but she didn't swat them away. She was so tired…She felt them start to leave her. Wanda was calling them back, thinking that she was dead. She twisted her head just a bit to look at Wanda. Wanda's back was to the door. Jin thought only one thought 'It's now or never'. The familiar phrase ran through her head. Jin bit her lip as she pushed herself up and started to run. She could here Wanda ordering her crows to follow her but they wouldn't be able to. Jin had already ran into the forest. Wanda wouldn't be able to get to her. She was free.

--

Hitomi was a little unsettled. Usually she gets visions differently then this. They don't just pop up for no reason. Maybe it did have a reason but she didn't know what it was. 'What am I going to do?' she thought. Hitomi jerked her head up. Jin was starting to speak again.

"I have more force on my side than what you think Wanda." She said. The unicorn dissapeared. Wanda scowled a little bit.

"That's a lie."

"Do you know About it already?" She asked.

"I don't need to know about it!" She demanded. Jin shrugged.

"Than what about my little sister?" She asked. Wanda brought her head up a little bit to look Jin in the eye.

"You HAVE no sister! You were an only child!" She said. Stating the fact. Jin nodded her head, agreeing with her.  
"But don't you remember? My half sister?" She asked. "The one who our grandmother made it that way?" Wanda growled under her breath a little bit before regaining her posture.

"What does she have to do with this." Everyone around could see that Jin was enjoying this very much.

"Wanda, are you really that clueless?" Jin said in a sarcastic tone. Wanda slapped her face hard.

"Shut up Juareo Hateo, Shut up Jin, She up Phantom woman, shut up VIRGINIA!" She screamed the last part. That was when the night started to settle in…

~*~  
The little girl was sitting in her bed biting her lips slightly and bringing the covers up to her chin. Though eleven years old, she still got scared easily. Her older brother, who was holding the book grinned.

"To scary sis, I'll just finish it here…" he said starting to close the book. His sister whacked him on the head. "Ow! What was that for!"  
"I want to hear the rest!"

"Your scared!"

"Am not!"

"Am too!"

"Am not!"

"Am too!"

"Both of you just be quiet!" The middle child, another girl around thirteen said. The boy was older than her. "I want to go to sleep! Now, Reta, you _know_ how easily you get nightmares, Will, mom _told_ you to stop reading her false stories!"

"But this is true! I'm telling her how things came to be on Gaea!"

"And we live on Hersa! NOT Gaea though we do go there from time to time!" Will was getting annoyed.

"This is FACT little sister, if you close your mouth and listen for a few minutes you might find that out Kell!" He said. Kell sighed in defeat.

"Fine." She mumbled, she sat by Reta who told her what had happened so far in the tale…

~*~

A/N: I don't know why I wrote that last bit…just felt like it I suppose…I own Will, Kell, and Reta and the planet Hersa unless there really is one…lol, anyway…sorry for the really short chapters lately…this one is a bit longer so…buh-bye now!


	32. Epilogue

Epilogue **__**

Epilogue

By *~A White Rose Petal~*

---

Hitomi looked around her room. She swallowed quickly and let a tear escape.

"I thought I was really there…" She whispered to herself lightly. She couldn't believe that she was really home.

She went over to her light switch and flipped it up. She held her breath and looked back at her room. She sighed quietly. It was a funny thing to think that it was real… She hoped that maybe it was just a dream that she had on _Gaea_ not Earth…

Hitomi went down the stairs of their house and went into the kitchen. She went over to the cupboard and pulled out some tea mix. She put it into the steaming cup of water and let the small package float around a little bit. She put the drink to her lips and sipped silently. She heard steps coming down the stairs. The figure entered the kitchen and nearly dropped the cup that she was holding.

"M-mom?" She whispered. Her mother looked amusedly at her daughter and laughed lightly. Her eyes were happily laughing at her too.

"What's wrong Hitomi? You look like you've seen a ghost!" Her laughter died down a little but she was still grinning at Hitomi. Hitomi put her cup quickly onto the counter. She walked over to her mother and hugged her tightly.

"You could say that mom, you could say that." She whispered. Hitomi finally released her mother and started going up the stairs.

"I've wonder what got her up?" Her mother whispered. She looked at the calendar and gasped. On the 15th, which was today, it was marked **Welcome Home Hitomi, P-A-R-T-Y!** "Hitomi's party for coming home safely! How could I have forgotten?!" Her mother gasped. "I have to start getting things ready!"

---

A/N: If you don't know how this ties in with the rest of the story I'll give you a hint, look at the 1st chapter!!!!!!!!!!! Bye!!!!!!


End file.
